Collin Burkhart was crowned a national champion on Wednesday, taking home the top spot at NSAF's Outdoor Nationals held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Burkhart, a recent Nazareth Area graduate and Penn State signee, tossed the javelin 209 feet, 4 inches (63.82 meters) to top his previous PR by an inch. He was two and half meters better than second place Austin Milton of Oregon. Burkhart was the PIAA Class AAA state champion last month in the javelin, where he threw 208-6. Tunkhannock junior Matthew Prebola placed fourth with a best toss of 60.71 meters.
Burkhart also took home fifth in the hammer throw with a best toss of 222-9 to round out a solid day of action for the future Nittany Lion.
There were plenty of other top performers on Throws Day at nationals. Siniru Iheoma of Council Rock South had a strong day, claiming third in the shot put and fifth in the discus. Iheoma put down best marks of 14.98m in the shot put and 48.72m in the discus. Ashlyn Giles of Schuylkill Valley was sixth in the shot put and 13th in the discus.
Hempfield Area's Daniel Norris claimed fifth place in the discus, launching a best throw of 56.61m, or 185 feet. That rounds out a strong season for the AAA discus champion. In the girls' javelin, Mifflin County's Skylar Ciccolini placed ninth with a throw of 149-2, which is a PR and the best throw this season by a Pennsylvanian.
Watch Burkhart's interview after the state meet below.