FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - May 31 - Southern Utah University's Kayla Kovar completed her NCAA Nationals hat trick, qualifying in her third event after a second-place finish in the women's hammer throw at the NCAA West Preliminary meet on Saturday. The senior qualified for a chance at an NCAA championship in each of the events she entered, finishing 10th in the shot put on Thursday and 10th in the discus on Friday.

Kovar's distance of 205 feet two inches was well short of her season best of 216 feet nine inches, also the school record. The Ridgecrest, Calif. native recorded the mark on her final throw of the day after recording previous bests of 203 feet seven inches and 197 feet three inches.

Jayson Kovar, younger brother to Kayla, missed a chance to advance to nationals after a 31st-place finish in the men's discus, throwing 172 feet one inch. Ryan Barrus, running in the 5k, also missed a nationals berth with a time of 14:49.66, finishing 39th.

K. Kovar will now travel to Eugene, Ore. for the national championships, slated for June 11-14. It will be the second time this season that she will compete for a national title, having finished 10th in the women's weight throw at the NCAA indoor national championships in Albuquerque, N.M.