Murray State University Athletics
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Bell Competes in Discus Toss in NCAA Track and Field Regionals
5/25/2007 5:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
(Some information compiled in this story appears courtesy of University of Missouri Athletics Department)
Murray State freshman Pam Bell was one of over 900 athletes to compete in the 2007 NCAA Track and Field Mideast Regional in Columbia, Mo. today. All competitions occured at Audrey J. Walton Stadium on the University of Missouri campus.
After a 65 minute delay, Bell tossed the Discus 36.33 meters, 39.37 meters, then 39.94 meters. Her longest toss of 39.94 meters was used as her official scoring.
A total of 21 women participated in the Discus, with the winner (Astin Steward of Purdue) tossing 53.22 meters (174-07). NCAA Mideast competitors advancing to the NCAA Championships include Steward, Shanna Dickenson (Tennessee), Brittany Riley (Southern Illinois), Ashley Muffet (Kentucky), and Jaclyn Espinoza (Notre Dame). The top-five individual finishers in each event go on to compete in the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif. on June 5-6.
Bell earned her spot in the NCAA Regionals on May 5, when she placed first out of 15 competitors in the Discus competition at the Ohio Valley Conference Track and Field Outdoor Championships in Charleston, Ill. As the OVC is an automatic qualifier to the NCAA championships, all event winners along with any athletes hitting NCAA Regional marks earned a trip to an NCAA Regional competition.
Bell tossed a 138'00" (42.06 m) at the OVC Outdoor Championships, which bested her previous season-high throw of 131'10" on April 7 at the Gatorade Classic in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
With her first place finish, Bell became just the fifth individual OVC Outdoor Discus champion in MSU history, along with Wendy Atkinson (122'3" in 1991), Dawn Woodside (130'7" in 1989 and 121'1" in 1988), and Jen Oberhauser (131'11.25" in 1982).
Also a member of the Lady Racer basketball team, Bell joined the MSU track and field team after the basketball season had ended, just in time for the Outdoor portion of the schedule.
Bell enjoyed a multi-sport career at Tilghman High School in Paducah, Ky., excelling in both basketball and track and field.
In basketball, Bell amassed over 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds under coach Allison Graham, leading the Tornado to three district championships. For her efforts, Bell was named to the all-Purchase, all-region, and all-district teams several times throughout her illustrious career.
In track and field, Bell shattered the Kentucky state records in discus and shot put under coach Cecil Ward, winning the KHSAA track and field state championship in 2004 and 2005. During her track and field career, Bell was named all-state first team in shot put and discus for six consecutive years.
Along with her many basketball accolades, Bell was named the 2005 Kentucky Gatorade Athlete of the Year, and also earned the 2005 State Track and Field2A Sportsmanship Award.
Competing at the Mideast Regional were 88 different universities that spanned across 13 states. Universities that competed included Akron, Alabama-Birmingham, Alabama, Alabama State, Alcorn State, Arkansas, Arkansas State, Arkansas-Little Rock, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Auburn, Austin Peay, Ball State, Belmont, Bowling Green, Bradley, Butler, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, DePaul, Detroit Mercy, Eastern Illinois, Eastern Kentucky, Eastern Michigan, East Tennessee State, Grambling, Illinois-Chicago, Illinois, Illinois State, Indiana, Indiana State, Jackson State, Jacksonville State, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisville, Loyola (Ill.), Louisiana State, Marquette, Middle Tennessee State, McNeese State, Memphis, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Mississippi Valley State, Missouri, Missouri State, Missouri-Kansas City, Murray State, Northern Illinois, Nicholls State, Northwestern State (La.), Notre Dame, Ohio, Ohio State, Purdue, South Alabama, Southern Illinois, Southern Miss, Samford, Southeast Louisiana, Southeast Missouri State, Southern, Tennessee-Chattanooga, Tennessee, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Valparaiso, Vanderbilt, Western Illinois, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wisconsin, and Youngstown State.
