Kent State’s Thomas captures NCAA shot put victory

Alex Cossin|June 9, 2017

Archival photo of Danniel Thomas, who won first place in the women's shot put 2017 NCAA Division 1 Championship.

Archival photo of Danniel Thomas, who won first place in the women’s shot put 2017 NCAA Division 1 Championship.

Kent State’s Danniel Thomas won first place in the 2017 NCAA Division I women’s shot put.

Redshirt senior Thomas nailed the win with a career best — 62-foot 10-inch throw.

Second place went to Louisville senior Emmonnie Henderson with a 58-foot 9.5-inch throw. Third place went to senior Brittany Mann from University of South Carolina with a toss of 57 feet 4 3/4 inches.

Thomas’ historical throw will go down as the second best ever mark for a college athlete, just short of University of Mississippi’s Raven Saunders throw of 63 feet 5 inches at last year’s championship meet.

Thomas’ championship-winning throw defeats Kent State’s previous record for women’s shot put — set by Thomas herself — of 58 feet 3 1/4 inches from the 2015 outdoor season.

Thomas will be back on the field in Eugene, Oregon, for discus as the No. 4 seed on Saturday, June 10 at 6:05 p.m. EDT.

Alex Cossin is a sports reporter, contact him at [email protected].