Wayne State College junior thrower Mckenzie Scheil earned All-American honors with a second place finish in the weight throw at the NCAA Div. II Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Ala.
Scheil came out with her first throw of 66 feet, 1 1/2 inches, and had the top mark through three rounds of preliminary throws entering finals.
Minnesota State’s Katie Taylor took the lead for good on the first throw of finals with a mark of 67-0 3/4 and sealed the top spot in the event with a final mark of 69-5 1/2 to win the national title.
Scheil, who entered the national championship with the top mark in the country at 67-9 3/4, started the event with her top throw of the day at 66-1 1/2 followed by marks of 61-11 3/4 and 64-11 1/2. In the finals, she fouled on her first attempt followed by marks of 63-8 3/4 and 62-6.
Scheil is a three-time national qualifier in the weight throw for the Wildcats and collected her first indoor All-American honor with the second place finish. She becomes the fourth Wildcat in school history to earn All-American honors in the event, joining her current throws coach Carly Fehringer (2013, 2014), Emily Wells (2014) and Michaela Dendinger (2018).
In men’s action, Cade Kalkowski and Cole Christoffersen competed in the weight throw Thursday evening.
Kalkowski, a senior, posted a 13th place finish with a mark of 59-4 3/4. The three-time national qualifier and 2019 All-American fouled on his first two preliminary throws followed by his final attempt of 59-4 3/4 to get a mark.
Christoffersen finished 14th after fouling on his three attempts in prelims. The first-time national qualifier was awarded the final qualifying spot for nationals with a season-best mark of 63-9 3/4 at the NSIC Indoor Championships on Feb. 26.
