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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The University of Delaware closed its 2008-09 athletic season Friday as Kelli McDonald (at right) and Jon Gomez competed at the NCAA East Regional Outdoor Track & Field Championships at North Carolina A&T’s Irwin Belk Track.

McDonald, a senior from Phoenixville, Pa. (Phoenixville HS), just missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships with a record-setting and seventh place performance in the women’s pole vault while Gomez, a freshman from Whippany Park, N.J. (Whippany Park High School), placed 16th overall in the men’s javelin throw.

The NCAA East Regional concludes on Saturday but no UD student-athletes will be competing. The top five finishers in each event qualify for the NCAA Championships to be held June 10-13 at the University of Arkansas.

McDonald, who placed third at the Colonial Athletic Association championship back in April and earned All-East honors with an eighth place finish at the ECAC Championships earlier this month, enjoyed an outstanding showing Friday as she placed seventh in the pole vault and broke her own school record with a leap of 12-feet, 10-inches.

A CoSIDA Academic All-American who has won 19 career meet titles indoors and outdoors, McDonald fell just under four inches short of finishing in the top five and earning an NCAA Championship berth. Florida senior Natalie Moser won the competition with a leap of 13-1 3/4 and was followed by Nicole Kazuba of William & Mary, Tiffany Maskulinski of Buffalo, Joanna Wright of Georgia Tech, and Liza Todd of South Carolina.

McDonald’s finish was the highest ever for a UD athlete in the seven-year history of the the regionals, besting the ninth place finish by Casey Bennett in the pole vault in 2004.

Gomez, who earlier this year finished third in the javelin at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships and was 19th at the IC4A Championships, placed 16th overall and fifth among nine freshmen in the competition Friday as he threw 198-2. He threw 183-1 on his first throw and 198-2 on his second throw before fouling on his third and final attempt. Earlier this spring, he broke a 12-year old school record in the javelin with a toss of 209-5.

Georgia’s Chris Hill won the javelin event with a meet and track record toss of 263-7. Craig Kinsley of Brown was second (241-6) followed by Matthias Treff of Virginia Tech (212-10), Bryan Howard of Florida (211-6), and Thomas Sensing of Wake Forest (207-5).

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