Noel Tops CSUN Entrants in NCAA Track

Garrett Noel of Cal State Northridge makes it sound so simple.

The senior figures he has a good shot at winning the men’s javelin in the NCAA championships at Tad Gormley Stadium in New Orleans on Friday if he can unload a long throw in one of the first three rounds of the competition.

“You can’t go in looking at a particular place,” Noel said. “You just want to get in a good throw early and try to put some pressure on the other guys. If you can do that, you can sit back and relax while many of them will press and choke right before your eyes.”

Noel is one of four Northridge athletes who will compete in the NCAA meet, which started Wednesday and concludes Saturday.

The others are senior Kim Young and sophomores Derek Scurry and Kristin Dunn.

Young will run in a first-round heat of the women’s 100 hurdles today and Scurry will compete in the men’s long jump. Dunn will compete in the women’s javelin Friday.

A new format will be used in the weight events, long jump and triple jump in the meet, which is being held at the site of last year’s U.S. Olympic trials.

In previous years, qualifying rounds were held in each of those events with the top 12 individuals advancing to the final the following day.

This year, qualifying and finals will be held on the same day. Each competitor will have three qualifying attempts and the top eight performers--based on marks--will be awarded an additional three jumps or throws in the finals. This year, unlike past years, preliminary marks can count as the athletes’ top performance.

The setup was designed to shorten what had become exceedingly long qualifying rounds and to make every attempt more important.

“It will definitely have an influence on people’s strategy,” Northridge Coach Don Strametz said.

Noel, who raised his Northridge record to 247 feet in winning the Northridge Open last month, is regarded as one of five potential winners in the men’s javelin.

The others are Brian Keane of Western Michigan (season best of 254-10), Dariusz Trafas of Florida (253-10), Hans Schmidt of Georgia (248-1) and Erik Smith of UCLA (247-0).

“Between the top five throwers, it’s a tossup,” Noel said.

“But you can’t get too wrapped in what they’re doing because there are always one or two guys who are not ranked high who seem to come through with a big throw.”

Noel finished eighth in last year’s meet but is more confident this time.

“I was in awe of some of the guys last year until midway through the competition,” Noel said. “I saw their marks and I felt like maybe I didn’t belong there. This year, I know I belong.”

Noel is the only Northridge athlete with experience in the Division I championships.

Young, the co-school record-holder in the 100 hurdles at 13.62 seconds, is ready to claim the record for herself.

Scurry holds the Northridge record in the indoor (26 feet 3 1/2 inches) and outdoor (26-0 3/4) long jump, but he will probably have to jump farther to place among the top eight in a field that has 12 entrants who have jumped better than 26 feet and four who have spanned more than 27.

Dunn, seeded 14th in the women’s javelin, is second on the all-time Northridge list with a personal best of 164-0.