May 26, 2007

Perri earns NCAA All-America honors in shot put

OSHKOSH, Wis. -- Grove City College senior thrower Bob Perri (Washington, Pa./Trinity) earned All-America honors in the shot put Saturday afternoon at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Perri placed eighth in the shot put with a mark of 51 feet, 11 inches, earning his first NCAA All-America honor.

Perri posted his heave of 51-11 in the final throw of the preliminaries, which placed him among the nine competitors in the finals. On his final throw in the finals, Perri posted a mark of 50-7 -- his second-best mark of the day. That proved pivotal as he finished the competition tied for eighth with Wisconsin-La Crosse's Luke Kimlinger. However, Perri's mark of 50-7 broke the tie with Kimlinger, who fouled on all three of his attempts in the finals.

Mount Union senior Justin Rodhe won the NCAA title with a throw of 59-3 1/2 in the finals.

Perri entered the NCAA Championships as the ninth seed with a season-best mark of 52-8. Perri posted that mark in winning the Presidents' Athletic Conference championship April 28 at Grove City's Robert E. Thorn Field. He also took third at the ECAC Division III Championships May 18 in Oneonta, N.Y.

Perri is Grove City's first men's track and field NCAA All-American since Rory Phillips earned All-America in the javelin three years ago.

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