McQuillen heading to Poland

BY CORY ISENBERG
The Tribune-Democrat

June 25, 2008 11:45 pm

— After another record-setting performance this past weekend in Columbus, Ohio, Karlee McQuillen may contemplate taking a crash course in learning the Polish language.
A two-time Nike Outdoor National champion, McQuillen set a meet record in winning the women’s javelin throw at the 2008 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Ohio State University. The event is for athletes who are age 19 and younger.
“I had hoped to do well,” McQuillen said. “I went in there as the top seed and ended up breaking the record.”
McQuillen, who just completed her freshman year at Penn State University had a winning toss of 171 feet, 5 inches. The previous record of 170-0 was set in 2002 by Lindsey Johnson.
The victory earns McQuillen, a Westmont Hilltop graduate, a spot on the U.S. team that will compete at the 2008 IAAF World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, from July 8-14.
“It’s pretty crazy to be going to Poland,” said McQuillen who will leave on July 4. “It will be kind of like going to a mini-Olympics. There won’t really be any pressure on me since the top girl from China has thrown over 200 feet. I just want to go in there and do the best I can.”
McQuillen’s winning throw in Ohio came on the fifth of her six throws. Roxanne Grizzle (Tonganoxie, Kan.) was the runner-up with 170-3 and Olympic Trials provisional qualifier Hannah Carson (Mesa, Ariz.) was third with 163-5.
In her first season of collegiate competition, McQuillen established Penn State and American Junior records in the javelin.
McQuillen recently won the javelin competition at the NCAA East Regional Track and Field Meet with a regional record-setting throw of 175-10.
In her first trip to the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Iowa, McQuillen finished ninth.
“That’s a sore subject with me because I did so well in the preliminary round and was fourth going into the finals,” said McQuillen, who is majoring in communications advertising and public relations and minoring in business marketing at Penn State. “I had a poor day throwing in the finals, but it was a great experience.”
McQuillen contemplated heading to Eugene, Ore., this week for the Olympic Trials to attempt to qualify for the 2008 Games in Beijing, China, in August.
“I decided to pass on going this year and hopefully I’ll be able to go get it in 2012,” she said.
In high school, the former Hilltopper was a two-time state champion in the javelin and also participated in basketball, soccer and softball.
And how will McQuillen spend the rest of her summer?
“When I get back from Poland, I’ll probably take it easy as far as training goes, and get a job so I can make some money,” she said. “I’ll probably lay low for a little while then get back to training in September again. All that training is pretty grueling, but you know that it pays off in the end.”
McQuillen is the daughter of Thomas and Debbie McQuillen.