Utah State’s Sindri Gudmundsson garners first-team All-American honors in the javelin

EUGENE, Ore. – Utah State thrower Sindri Gudmundsson capped a spectacular redshirt freshman season by placing sixth in the finals of the men’s javelin at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Finals on Wednesday at historic Hayward Field.

By finishing in the top-eight of the event, the native of Kopavogur, Iceland, earned first-team All-American honors.

“It means a lot to me,” said Gudmundsson, whose mark of 73.28m (240-5) was good enough for sixth place. “To be a first-team All-American as a freshman is awesome, especially just coming off of my elbow injury at the start of the season. The meet was good. I had some good warm-up throws and I felt good. The competition throws were okay, but there was a lot of stuff that I could have done better. That’s how it goes, though.”

Gudmundsson advanced to his first-ever Outdoor Finals by placing first in the javelin with a mark of 76.18m (249-11) at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships on May 25 in Austin, Texas. On Wednesday, he became the first Aggie javelin thrower to earn All-American honors in 28 years (John Kelly in 1989).

“To be an All-American as a freshman makes me a threat for the next three years,” Gudmundsson said. “I gained some respect for the next three years and it’s only going to get better.”

Two other Aggies garnered second-team All-American accolades on Wednesday in the recently graduated AJ Boully and junior Clay Lambourne.

Lambourne narrowly missed reaching the finals of the men’s 800-meter run. The junior from Riverton, Utah, finished third in Heat 1 – despite being in seventh place after the first lap – with a time of 1:47.19.

However, after the results of the next two heats had been posted, Lambourne was in ninth place. The top-eight runners advanced to Friday’s finals.

By finishing in the top-16 of the event, though, Lambourne earned second-team All-American honors. That is quite the feat when you consider a year ago, he placed 22nd in the same race with a time of 1:52.31.

“It’s hard to be the last spot out, especially when it was that close, but I made some really big improvements this year that I have to be happy about,” Lambourne said. “I will race one more time at the USA Championships in Sacramento looking for a new PR and then I’m excited to make some changes for next year that will hopefully result in more big improvements for my senior season.”

Boully, who graduated last month with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies, also garnered second-team All-American honors after placing third in Heat 3 and 13th overall with a time of 50.47 in the semifinals of the men’s 400-meter hurdles.

“It was an amazing field to run against,” Boully said. “Every heat had fast people and I would have had to have gone above and beyond to make it to finals. I’m not disappointed in the experience; I’m disappointed that I didn’t perform to the best of my abilities.”

He caps his illustrious Aggie career as a three-time All-American, including a pair of second-team accolades and one honorable mention citation.

“I ran as hard as I could have today, but it wasn’t what I am physically capable of,” Boully said. “Since this is probably my last competitive showing, I wish I could have finalized my own little legacy.”

Sophomore thrower Brenn Flint will compete in the finals of the women’s shot put on Thursday at 7:40 p.m. (MT).

Fans can follow the Utah State track & field programs at twitter.com/USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at instagram.com/USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.

<strong>UTAH STATE RESULTS</strong>

<strong>NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS, FINALS</strong>

<strong>EUGENE, ORE.</strong>

<strong>JUNE 7, 2017</strong>

<strong> </strong>

<strong>MEN’S RESULTS:</strong>

800m (semifinals) – 9. Clay Lambourne, 1:47.19.

400m Hurdles (semifinals) – 13. AJ Boully, 50.47.

Javelin (finals) – 6. Sindri Gudmundsson, 73.28m (240-5).

-USU-

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