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Slippery Rock's Taylor shines in back-to-back javelin events
Samantha Taylor, a Gateway graduate and junior on the Slippery Rock University women's track and field team, won the javelin to lead the squad at the historic Adidas Raleigh Relays that concluded Saturday at North Carolina State University.
She topped a field full off Division I talent, including throwers from Duke, North Carolina, Rutgers, George Mason, Coastal Carolina, Wake Forest and Dartmouth.
Taylor's winning throw of 46.59 meters is an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark and currently is the fifth best performance by a Division II athlete in the nation this year.
For her efforts, Taylor was selected the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday
Taylor earned another NCAA provisional mark and placed second in the javelin with a throw of 45.41 meters at the Coastal Carolina Invitational on March 14 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
That performance also earned her the PSAC Field Athlete of the Week Award, as the award was presented March 24.
Taylor is coming off a highly successful 2014 outdoor season in which she claimed the PSAC javelin championship and placed fourth nationally with a personal-best distance of 48.99 meters.
The fourth-place finish earned her All-American status.
Taylor is gunning for her third trip to nationals in as many seasons as she took 15th in the javelin as a freshman after taking third at PSACs.
She will return to action with her Slippery Rock teammates Thursday as the Rock hosts the Slippery Rock University Open.
Alex Vaughn
The Monroeville resident, Trinity Christian graduate and freshman on the brand new Point Park men's track and field team earned Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Week for March 16 to 22 for his performance at the Cal U Early Bird meet on March 21.
Vaughn, the top 400-meter performer for the Pioneers, placed fourth in the 400 at the NCAA Division II Cal U meet with a time of 50.13 seconds.
The time was less than a second behind the event winner.
He also competed in the 200 meters and placed 17th overall and third on the team with a time of 23.04.
Vaughn ran as a part of the 4x400 relay. The team finished eighth, but it was in first after his lead-off leg.
He followed the Cal U performance with a second-place finish (51.0) in the 400 meters at Saturday's West Virginia Wesleyan Bobcat Invitational.
Vaughn and the Pioneers competed in the indoor season, but the Cal U meet was their first-ever outdoor competition in school history.
Vaughn already has established the Point Park men's indoor record in the 400 meters (51.17). He set that mark in a 20th-place finish at the Kent State meet.
Point Park is in action again Thursday at the Slippery Rock University Open.
Michael Love is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach him at 412-388-5825 or at mlove@tribweb.com.
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