(Tribune News Service) — Navy javelin thrower Braden Presser earned All-America honors Wednesday by placing sixth at the NCAA Championships at Mike A. Meyers Stadium on the University of Texas campus.

Presser launched a top throw of 249 feet, 4 inches to break his own school record, which was set May 25 at the NCAA East Preliminary meet. He surpassed his personal record by 2 inches in becoming a first-team All-American, an honor awarded to the top eight in each event. LSU’s Tzuriel Pedigo won the event with a top throw of 261 feet, 9 inches.

Chris Campbell, the Navy assistant who tutors the throwers, noted that Presser rebounded well after fouling on his first attempt.

“Braden is a hard worker and is very bright,” Campbell said. “He understands this event and is able to make adjustments when things aren’t working well. That is not how you want to start, but he had a great response with his second throw.

"From there we continued to try and make adjustments to get him more comfortable with the runway and eventually got his throw of 76 meters, which was such an awesome thing to see. To compete on the biggest stage in our sport and break a school record is a huge accomplishment. It's a great ending to the season for him and the entire program."

Presser was determined to deliver a better showing after placing 18th in the javelin at the 2022 NCAA Championships. The Missouri native was out of sync and had to count a throw that was his worst of the entire season.

Campbell said Presser was also motivated by a runner-up result at the Patrick League Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Since then, the junior standout has launched the two longest throws of his career.

Presser unleashed a throw of 247-8 on his second attempt to jump into the top 10. He broke the program record and solidified the sixth-place result on his fifth throw.

Presser now owns seven of the 10 best throws in program history, including four of the top five.

“It was an awesome feeling to come out and set another personal record,” Presser said. “Last year I didn’t have the finish I wanted and it was really disappointing. It drove me to get back to this stage and perform better.

"Javelin is a unique event. Just doing something a tad different can affect your throw by a few meters. I had a good start to the year, but then I hit a wall. I was only getting low 70-meter throws for a stretch and it was frustrating. I had a great few weeks of practice before today and it all connected at the right time. I felt I did well today and I'm proud of myself."

Presser can become the first Navy javelin thrower to qualify for the NCAA Championships three times. He is a two-time All-American, having earned honorable mention accolades last season.

"I'm excited to get back to this stage again next year and hopefully bring a lot of my teammates with me," Presser said.

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