May 24, 2007

FRESNO, Calif. -- Karley Kalinich gave it the perfect start.

Fresno Pacific University, host of the 56th Annual NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, could not have asked for a better opening moment than the one offered by its own Kalinich. The senior from Victorville, Calif., won the women's hammer, the first competition of the championship meet, with a heave of 189' 8" and in the process became only the second Sunbird female ever to win an NAIA individual crown.

"This has been on of my dreams for a long time," said Kalinich who took the lead on her first throw and never relinquished it through the entire event. "It means the world (to me)."

Kalanich has had a long time to think about this moment. Last year, in the opening event of Fresno Pacific's first-ever hosting of the NAIA Track & Field Championships, a large crowd of supporters came to cheer on Kalanich, who fouled out on her first three throw and failed to advance to the finals.

"Last year I just fell apart," said Kalanich. "I let my nerves get the best of me. I was so angry. I was better mentally prepared today. I was confident coming in because I trained and mentally prepared. I'm normally a four-turner, but my coach and I worked on three turns to make sure it was consistent, that it would go down the middle and that there weren't any ring fouls."

Indeed, this time there were no meet-ending fouls for Kalanich who had 4 throws over 187'. She becomes the first Sunbird to win an NAIA championship event since Nicole Munroe won the shot put in 1988.

Lynnae Fox of Black Hills State College (S.D.) was second at 176' 4", while Tawna Trial of Hastings College (Neb.) was third at 175' 1".

In other opening competition, freshman Reid Gustavson of the University of British Columbia has grabbed the early lead in the decathlon with 2,223 points after three events, while Zora Golcevska of Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) leads the heptathlon after one event with 954 points.

For complete up-to-the-minute results of the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships go to CFPI Timing & Data. For more detailed information on the NAIA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, go to the NAIA website. For audio and video highlights of the meet, visit Fresno.edu/naia2007.