Birmingham, Ala.—Auburn's Madi Malone completed a stellar redshirt freshman indoor season with an eighth-place finish in the women's weight throw at the NCAA Indoor Championships Saturday earning first team All-America honors. Malone's eighth place equaled the best NCAA indoor finish in school history in the event, joining Jasmine Manigault, who also finished eighth in 2017.
"It's awesome to be an All-American," Malone said. "This has been the goal the whole year, so to finally to get here, it's a really awesome feeling."
A Wichita, Kan., native, Malone's fourth round throw of 21.49m/70-6.25 was her best attempt of the day, propelling her into scoring position. After opening with tosses of 20.18m and 19.88m, Malone was in 10th place, one spot out of advancing to finals. But a strong third throw of 2.104m/69-0.5 advanced her to the final nine.
"It was a little nerve racking," Malone said. "I knew my first throw wasn't going to get me to finals. After the first two I knew I had to get a big one out there. On the third throw I tried to relax and hit the ball out there."
The season for Malone was nothing short of amazing as she earned All-American honors, was named SEC Indoor Female Freshman Field Athlete of the Year and finished second at the SEC Indoor Championships in the event. The top freshman in the country, Malone broke the Auburn school record and freshman record with a personal-best toss of 22.11m/72-6.5 at the SEC Championships.
Malone and the Auburn team will open the 2019 outdoor season March 22 at the Florida State Relays in Tallahassee, Fla.