Kawai Just Misses Field For NCAA Track Championships

Kawai Just Misses Field For NCAA Track Championships

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QUICK LINK: NCAA Division III Championships Accepted Entries List

FOREST GROVE – Despite a school record performance that kept him in the top-20 nationally for much of the season, Kelson Kawai (Jr., North Kohala, Hawaii) will have to wait one more year to make it to the national meet.
 
The junior was left out of the field of 20 accepted athletes for the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships.  The meet begins on Thursday at the University of Wis. LaCrosse's Veterans Memorial Field Sports Complex.
 
Kawai tied the Pacific school record of 6 feet, 8 inches at the Peyton Scoring Meet in Tacoma, Wash., on Mar. 29 and went on to tie for second in the event at the Northwest Conference Championships on Apr. 27.  He finished the season tied with seven other athletes for 19th in the nation at the mark.  Only two competitors with the clearance, Christopher Watson of Dubuque and Stephen Silber of RPI, were accepted into the meet.
 
Head Coach Tim Boyce said the tie was broken based on each jumper's second best mark of the season, with Kawai being beat out by just a centimeter.  Both Watson and Silber had second best marks late in the season of 2.01 meters (6 feet, 7 inches) while Kawai's second best performance this season was 2.00 meters (6 feet, 6.75 inches).
 
Boyce took both Kawai and Tyler Shipley (Fr., Forest Grove, Ore.) to the Gregory Final Qualifier in Naperville, Ill., last week in an attempt to improve their potential qualifying marks.  In Friday's high jump, a long weather delay kept jumpers from developing any kind of momentum and only cleared 6 feet, 2.75 inches.
 
Boyce said last week that he knew that a potential trip to nationals would be close.  "Kelson had a great season," Boyce said on Friday.  "Nonetheless, we made every effort and we have no regrets.  The best is yet to come for the Boxers."
 
Joseph Carl of UMass Boston has been the national leader at the Division III leader since mid-March, clearing 7 feet, 1 inches at the Charlotte 49er Classic.  A total of 14 athletes enter the meet having cleared 6 feet, 9 inches.
 
Kawai played a key role in Pacific's best men's track and field season in four decades.  In addition to his second place finish in the high jump, Kawai won the triple jump at the NWC Championships to help lead the Boxers to a third place finish.  The Boxers finished with the second highest point total in the meet in their best placing since 1977.
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