South Alabama’s Renaldo Frechou placed seventh in the men’s hammer throw at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, setting a school record of 67.64 meters and earning first-team All-America honors.
Frechou is the sixth individual in South Alabama track and field history to earn All-America recognition and the first thrower, male or female, to do so.
Four Record Throws
Frechou entered the competition as the 15th seed and already held the school record. He broke his own mark four times in his six attempts, saving his best throw for his final attempt.
His final mark was more than three meters beyond the 64.36-meter throw he recorded two weeks earlier at the NCAA East Region Preliminaries, which set both school and Sun Belt Conference records.
First Men’s All-American Since 2007
Frechou is the first South Alabama All-American since Tonny Okello and Vincent Rono earned the honor in 2007, and only the fourth in the history of the Jaguars’ men’s program.
“Renaldo came out here against the best hammer throwers in the country and had four throws over his personal best in the biggest meet of the year,” South Alabama head coach Paul Brueske said. “This is a great day for him and for our program. He really stepped up and did a fantastic job, and I’m really proud of the way he handled himself today.”
Beans Up Next
Freshman Kaitlyn Beans will represent South Alabama in the women’s triple jump on Friday. She is seeded ninth in the field, with the event scheduled to begin at 5:25 p.m. CDT.
