CHARLOTTE, N.C. (May 29, 2010) – Kutztown University sophomore Jack Iosue (Manheim/Manheim Central) made his first trip to the 2010 NCAA Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships memorable. Seeded 14th entering the championships, Iosue had a terrific afternoon by finishing fourth overall and earning All-American honors in the javelin at the Irwin Belk Complex on the campus of Johnson C. Smith University Saturday morning. (COMPLETE MEET RESULTS)

Iosue capped a strong season by tossing the javelin a personal best 210 feet, 4 inches. It bettered his previous best by 10 feet. Iosue proved that he belonged among the nation's elite by enjoying a terrific series of throws during the competition.

“Nothing has sunk in yet,” Iosue said. “I do know it's something that happened, but it'll probably hit me tomorrow. It's definitely a surprise finishing this high. After I threw the javelin (on the the toss that went 210-4), I turned and looked at the guy from Shippensburg with a look of I don't know how I did that.”

Iosue was in the first flight of competitors and he immediately made it known, he meant business. Iosue's first three tosses were 198 feet or better. After opening with a 198-3 on his first throw, Iosue reached his personal best toss on his second effort of the afternoon. Proving that reaching 210 feet was no fluke, Iosue finished the first flight by throwing the javelin 208-4. He was in second place after the first flight.

Iosue finished behind Nick Howe of UC-San Diego (225-0), Mike Beeler of Pittsburg State (219-04) and Raymond Orlando of Angelo State (216-0). Iosue would have finished in third place, but Orlando uncorked his best effort on his final throw of the event.

“Coach Paul Shump really helped me because he went to a clinic last week and he picked up some pointers,” Iosue said. “The two things that really helped me today was throwing my left shoulder into it and getting my hips up. Not everything went perfectly on that throw. I didn't feel like the javelin should've gone that far.”

The NCAA Championships will continue later this evening with Justin Germani (Birdsboro/Daniel Boone) competing in the pole vault beginning at 5:45 p.m. and Keri Brown competing in the 800-meter dash finals at 7:47 p.m. Thunderstorms that forced the postponement of most of Friday's track events are forecast for the evening and could impact the schedule. (CLICK HERE FOR UPDATES)
 

“He did an outstanding job,” Kutztown track and field coach Ray Hoffman said. “This is just a great experience for him heading into next year. He had an awesome series and got off to a really good start. I have to give credit to coaches Shump and Keith White because they made some tactical adjustments throughout the season with Jack's throwing, which included shortening his approach.”