2 Golds, Silver For Donovan's Wilson At National Championships

TOMS RIVER, NJ — Donovan Catholic thrower Alyssa Wilson, who has made headlines all school year for record throws and capturing titles, has finished out her high school career with one more feat: national championships in shot put and discus and a silver medal in the hammer throw.

Wilson, who is headed to UCLA in the fall, had swept the shot put and discus at the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association's track and field Meet of Champions two weeks ago, setting a meet record of 168 feet, 1 inch in the discus along the way.

Over the weekend, at the New Balance Nationals Outdoor track and field championships in Greensboro, North Carolina, Wilson continued to show why she has received so much attention this year.

In the shot put, Wilson threw 54 feet, 10.75 inches, beating the second-place thrower Kathleen Young from Decatur, Illinois by more than 3 feet, to repeat as shot put champion. Wilson's winning throw, about 3 feet shy of the national outdoor shot put record she set in May at the Ocean County Championships, came on the fifth of her six throws.

In the discus, Wilson not only added to the hardware she was already taking home, she left her mark, breaking a meet record that had stood for 20 years. Wilson threw the discus 179 feet, 9 inches, beating the old mark of 175 feet, 9 inches, set by Krista Keir of Westerville, Ohio in 1997.

The throw beat Wilson's NJSIAA Meet of Champions record-setting throw of 168 feet, 1 inch by 11 feet, and came on the last of her six throws. The national high school discus record of 198 feet, 9 inches, set by Shelbi Vaughn of Mansfield, Texas, in 2012, remains in place.

Wilson also competed in the hammer throw, an event that is not held in NJSIAA competition but that she had competed in at national track and field events, and came away with a silver in that event, earning her a third All-American title. She threw the hammer 180 feet even, finishing behind Jillian Shippee of Clifton Park, New York, who threw 192 feet, 10 inches.

Photo courtesy of Donovan Catholic High School