FIELD RESULTS

AUSTIN, Texas – On the third and final day of the 2015 Texas Relays, junior Julia Viberg enjoyed a big career performance for the Northern Arizona track & field team in the discus setting a new personal record and picking up a second-place finish in the event. Viberg recorded a mark of 57.07m (187-03) on her last of six throws and went head-to-head with last year's NCAA Discus Champion until the very end on Saturday.

"I'm really proud of Julia," said throws coach Nathan Ott. "She has struggled a little bit in these wind conditions so I'm proud to see her throw this well against this level of competition. She was in there with the national champion and she had her beat for a second."

Facing a big headwind, Viberg went into the finals with the top mark of 56.17m – recorded on her second throw of the day – which already bested her previous collegiate best mark of 56.13m set last season. Viberg continued to hold onto the top mark until the fifth round of throws when Texas A&M's Shelbi Vaughan surpassed her.

After Vaughan, the defending NCAA National Champion in the discus, pushed her top mark even further on her final throw to 61.48m, Viberg launched her PR-best distance on her final throw cementing her second-place in the competitive field. Viberg's mark of 57.07m could push her as high as second in the nation only trailing Vaughan at the moment. She came into the week ranked sixth in the country in the discus.

"I knew I had some good throws before so I was going to give it all I had on my last one," Viberg said. "It didn't turn out as good as I wanted to, but I still PR-ed, so that was a little funny. This is going to help me a lot because this is a big competition. I'll have to face many of these girls at Regionals and Nationals, so it's a good lesson for me."

Viberg's performance capped an exceptional week for the NAU throwers in Austin. Sophomore Brooke Andersen placed second in the hammer throw on the opening day and junior Micael Ljunberg was fifth in the men's discus on Friday.

Also at Texas State's Bobcat Invitational, senior Emily Bartz and sophomore Melanie Zibrat competed in the 800m run. Bartz placed eighth overall while Zibrat was 22nd in a field of nearly 40 runners.

"It wasn't ideal conditions – it was pretty windy out there – and racing wise it was a little slow," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Eric Heins. "They made the most of it and Emily put herself in a position to finish third in her heat and push forward from the back of the pack towards the front."

Next week, the Lumberjacks will compete in two meets. They will be at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. on Friday, April 3, and the UNM Don Kirby Tailwind Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday, April 4.