Della Clark Finishes Third at NCAA Championships in Weight Throw

March 10, 2007

Fayetteville, AR – Clemson senior Della Clark placed third in the weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on Saturday at the Randal Tyson Center. The Acworth, GA native earned her first-ever All-America honor as a Lady Tiger, which was a first for the program at the indoor national meet since Gisele Oliveira captured the triple jump crown in 2005.

“I am very proud of Della’s performance,” said Marcia Noad, head coach of the Lady Tigers. “We ended up tied for 34th place at the meet. Considering that we did not have any qualifiers last year, I am pleased with that finish. We are on our way back into the top 25!”

Clark recorded a toss of 68’5″, a personal best that improved on her second-best mark in school history (although Jamine Moton’s school record came with a slimline weight no longer used). She is just the second thrower from Clemson to earn All-America honors. Jamine Moton previously earned two All-America certificates in both the shot put and weight throw, with a career-best finish of second on two occasions. Clark’s All-America effort was the 17th under Marcia Noad at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Thirty-five All-America honors have been earned since 2001, when Noad took over as head coach of Clemson’s track & field program.

Clark set her personal best with her fifth throw, then improved on the mark slightly with her final toss of the afternoon. She is a three-time All-ACC honoree in the weight throw.

Liane Weber also competed at the NCAA Championships for Clemson on Saturday. She took part in the pentathlon and finished 15th in her first-ever trip to nationals. The freshman from Wangen, Germany scored 3,831 points. She is the first Lady Tiger to compete in the pentathlon at nationals.

Weber posted a time of 8.84 in the 60m hurdles, then followed that with a 5’5.25″ clearance in the high jump and 36’6.75″ throw in the shot put. She hit a mark of 18’5.75″ in the long jump, then concluded her effort with a time of 2:26.39 in the 800m run.

“Liane was the only freshman in the pentathlon competition,” Noad explained. “It was a good experience for her. The next time she will know what to expect. I believe that she will compete better outdoors.”