JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Shot putter LaPorscha Wells missed by two places of moving on to the NCAA National Championships by finishing 14th of the 48 throwers in the NCAA East Preliminaries on the campus of North Florida.
The junior from Augusta, Ga. threw 15.86m (52-1/2) Saturday afternoon, the fifth-best throw in school history and her career fourth-best throw, to come up just one foot short of qualifying for the championships in Eugene, Ore.
Teammate Alysiah Whittaker, the school record holder in the shot put at 16.35m (53-7 ¾), came up short Saturday in Jacksonville with a throw of 15.01m (49-3) to place 32nd of the 48.
Georgia State's three days produced these final results:
- LaPorscha Wells was 14th in shot put and 19th in hammer of the 48 qualifiers. The junior improved by 13 spots in the hammer and 17 spots in the shot put from last year's NCAA East Preliminaries.
- Alysiah Whitter was 32nd in the shot put and 36th of the in the discus among the 48 throwers. The junior improved by seven spots in the discus, but was 22nd last year in the shot.
- Ravin Gilbert was 27th in the 200m and 41st in the 100m among the elite 48 NCAA East qualifiers. She missed by just .1 of a second in moving into the top 24 for the semifinals. A senior, she has used three years of NCAA Outdoor Track eligibility and could return should she choose to enroll in grad school or continue her education.
