UH’s Keenan places ninth at nationals

Hawaii senior TeRina Keenan let loose with the second-longest discus throw of her career and finished ninth Wednesday in the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Keenan, from New Zealand, ranked 11th coming in. After fouling in her first attempt, she threw 177 feet, 10 inches — a foot off her personal best. That advanced her to the final round, but she could not improve in her final three throws.

“I felt really good out there today, but I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t get a bigger throw,” Keenan said. “I didn’t feel intimidated. I knew I belonged there and the competition was really up for grabs. People were moving up throughout — even the winner jumped way ahead — so I thought I had a chance to win it too.”

San Diego State’s Whitney Ashley won with a throw of 196-10.

“I thought TeRina did a fantastic job in terms of how she competed — she wasn’t intimidated at all at her competition and gave her best effort,” said UH throws coach Seilala Sua-Zumbado, who set the NCAA meet record of 210-10 in 1999. “I thought her warm-up throws were fantastic, just right on, but it didn’t happen for her during the competition. Being able to compete here was a great way to end her collegiate career. She competed really well and I’m proud of her.”

Keenan finished her career with three gold and two silver medals at conference championships and became the school’s fourth four-time NCAA regional qualifier. Her ninth-place finish — one off All-America status — tied Novelle Murray for the best UH result in NCAA discus.

Meyer honored by Louisville Slugger

Nevada freshman Kewby Meyer, a 2011 Kamehameha graduate, was named to the Louisville Slugger freshman All-America team on Wednesday.

Meyer was one of five first basemen named to the team and is the eighth Wolf Pack player ever to receive the honor. He was a second-team All-Western Athletic Conference selection after hitting .324 with nine doubles, a home run and 34 RBIs.

No Hawaii players made the team.

High school athletic directors meet today

The annual Hawaii Interscholastic Athletic Directors Association will convene to vote on potential changes today in Lihue.

This year’s conference is expected to be relatively light and quiet on the proposal front. Last year, there was no proposal requesting expansion of the state football tournament field in Division I for the first time in several years. The tournament began with an eight-team format, then was reduced to six when the D-II state championships were formed.

Recently, there has been some discussion by ADs about developing a structured criteria process for seeding or rating state tournament teams.

The conference will conclude with final voting by general assembly on Saturday.