Pryke third in NCAA women’s javelin
Crestwood Secondary School graduate Ashley Pryke, of the University of Memphis Tigers track and field team, took third place Thursday in the women’s javelin in at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.
Pryke, a sophomore who earned a scholarship to Memphis, won bronze with a school-record throw of 56.93 m.
It was the fourth time in the 2017 outdoor campaign that Pryke re-set her own school record, according to a release from the university. Her previous school-record mark was 55.18 m, which she set in winning the 2017 American Athletic Conference women’s javelin crown in midMay.
With her third-place performance, Pryke also earned U.S. Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) AllAmerica first team honors.
Pryke is only the second Tigers women’s athlete to ever medal at the NCAA Championships – indoor or outdoor. The other Memphis women’s athlete to medal was Susan King, who placed second in the women’s shot put at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
On Thursday action, Pryke jumped into the top-three on her third and final attempt of the event’s opening round. She threw her school-record 56.93 m on that third attempt. By placing among the top 9 in the opening round, Pryke moved to the women’s javelin finals with three more throws. None of those attemps were better than her 56.93 m mark.
This summer Pryke travels to Taiwan to compete in the 2017 World University Games in midto-late August. She qualified for the World University Games with her first mark of the outdoor season at the 2017 Rhodes Invitational in mid-March.
Last summer Pryke won the Canadian national junior javelin championship and then competed at the world junior track and field championships in Poland.