May 30, 2009
GREENSBORO, N.C. - After a low-key first day of competition on Friday at the NCAA East Regional Championship, the Bulldogs saw a spectacular performance in the field events on Saturday. Senior Jeffrey Lachman placed fifth in the discus throw, which was good enough to earn an automatic bid for the NCAA National Championships. In this highly-competitive meet, Lachman was the sole Bulldog to earn points for the team. The Bulldogs ultimately finished in a tie for 36th with their four points in a field of roughly 100 teams.
Lachman threw his farthest distance of 53.59 meters (175'10") in his final throw of the third flight, earning him a spot in the final for the discus throw. The distance ended up being his best mark of the day, and good enough to qualify for the NCAA National Championships in two weeks. The senior has already made one appearance at the NCAA Championships: last year he also placed fifth in the East Regional meet. Earlier this season, Lachman broke Yale's 39-year old record in the discus throw by nearly ten feet. This mark ranks him 11th in the nation based on marks leading up to this weekend.
Fellow senior Nathan Noll placed 19th in the discus throw with a mark of 47.72 meters.
During Friday afternoon's competition, three other Yale athletes competed. Senior Samuel Fox tied for 21st place in the high jump with a mark of 2.05 meters (6'08.75"). In the 1,500-meter run, seniors Jared Bell and Murat Kayali were unable to make it to Saturday's final. Kayali placed ninth in his heat (3:58.14) to place 34th overall, while Bell finished tenth in the next heat (3:58.14) to place 35th.
While this is the end of the season for almost all of the Bulldogs, Lachman will continue to represent the Bulldogs on the national scene. The complete field for the NCAA National Championships, comprised of 20 automatic qualifiers and seven at-large qualifiers, will be announced on June 3rd. Nationals will be held from June 10-13 in Fayetteville, Ark.
Report by Bevin Peters '09, Yale Sports Publicity
