Mason Takes Eighth At World Junior Championships

SEATTLE - Husky freshman Elijah Mason finished eighth in the world today and first among Americans in the discus throw at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Tampere, Finland. Mason has yet to officially compete in a Husky uniform after redshirting 2018, but proudly wore the Team USA uniform today, setting the stage for big things to come in his collegiate career.

Mason made the final by advancing through Saturday's qualifying round with a throw of 186-feet, 6-inches, using the junior implement. In today's final, Mason had a toss of 190-2 on his second throw. After three rounds he was in the eighth spot to earn three more throws but he would not improve, getting a toss of 186-3 on his final throw.

"I did get eighth and that was worse than I was expecting but I feel like I was getting in the positions I needed to hit," said Mason. "I feel like I shot the bullets I needed and I don't feel like I need to take another throw."

Despite not finishing as high as he had hoped, "At the end of the day it is eighth in the world so I can be happy about that," Mason said, and was thrilled about the overall experience. "It was a dream come true. It's an ultimate blessing, it's something that a lot of people don't get to do and have, so I wouldn't trade it for the world."

Mason qualified for the World Championships team by taking second at the U.S. Junior Championships last month with a throw of 199-5.

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