Results  |  Day One Recap  |  Video Highlights (Taylor's throw is at 3:07 mark)

Malone University senior thrower Duke Taylor saved the best discus toss of his career for his final collegiate meet.  The East Canton, Ohio native claimed the first Individual NCAA Division II National Championship in Pioneer Athletics history on Friday evening by winning the discus competition at the National Meet with an incredible heave of 58.78 meters (192' 10").

The performance, which came on his second throw of the day, surpassed Taylor's previous personal-best and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference record of 185' 9" that he recorded on May 12th at Grand Valley State University's 2nd to Last Chance Meet.  The mark was also less than seven feet shy of the NCAA Division II National Championship Meet record of 199' 3" that was established by Abilene Christian University's Nick Jones in 2011.

In addition to claiming Malone's first NCAA Championship, Taylor's historic discus performance on Friday also made him the first three-time Division II First Team All-American in Pioneer history.  Taylor previously earned All-America accolades with an eighth-place finish in the weight throw at the 2017 Indoor National Championships and a third-place performance in the discus at last year's Outdoor Championships.

In total, Malone athletes have now collected 13 All-America awards since the institution transitioned to NCAA Division II membership in 2013.  Taylor has accounted for three of the five NCAA First Team All-America honors earned in track and field (the others were Emily Fisher in the 400-meter hurdles in 2014 and Ryan Roush in the 10,000 meters in 2016).

Overall, Taylor is the first individual National Champion for Malone since Justin Lower claimed the NAIA Men's Golf National Title in 2010.

Up Next:
Ashton Dulin will compete in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Live Results and live video will be provided throughout the National Championship Meet.