DELAWARE, Ohio – Linfield’s Kate Shear (Jr., Knappa, Ore.) missed out on All-America honors in the javelin, but still performed well in her first appearance at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The three-day meet concluded Saturday at Selby Field & George Gauthier Track on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Shear finished 12th out of 22 competitors with a throw of 133 feet, 1 inch (40.56m). The mark was more than seven feet off her career-best and Linfield school record throw of 141, 7 inches accomplished just over a week ago at the GFU Last Chance Meet on May 20. However it still ranks as one of the top-5 throws in Wildcat history.

The future looks incredibly bright for Shear at the national level. She was the second-highest freshman finisher, and six of the competitors who placed ahead of her were seniors.

Kelly Lovett, a senior from Carleton College, won the event with a toss of 155 feet, 4 inches (47.36). She crushed the rest of the field, defeating the runner-up by more than 14 feet.

The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh took home the women’s team championship with 80 points, winning the meet by an impressive 21-point margin.

North Central (Ill.) claimed the men’s team title with 58 points to edge the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (56). The team championship was not decided until the final race, the 4x400 meter relay, in which North Central placed third ahead of UW-La Crosse by just 0.2 seconds.

Individually, All-America honors went to all competitors who placed in the top-8 in their respective events.