Austin, TX (June 12, 2004)- Thomas Jacob Freeman was crowned the 2004 National Champion in the Hammer Throw at the NCAA Championships in Austin, TX. His final throw of 70.77m earned him the title beating 2003 National Champion Lucais MacKay. Freeman came into the finals in fifth place after the preliminaries on Thursday.
Freeman said, "I've waited four years for a national championship, so it's about time! I felt strong coming into today, nice and loose. I was just trying to concentrate on doing what I know how to do and I had a throw over 70-meters. I was nervous after my first two throws because I fouled them and then I had a good throw, so it gave me a little confidence headed into the finals. I only won by seven centimeters, so the field was really strong."
Jasper Rajne Svenssohn finished 17th out of 26 athletes in the Decathlon earning 7, 056 points. Svenssohn was ranked 14th going into the competition.
This is the 46th consecutive year that Manhattan College has boasted an NCAA qualifier. Coach Dan Mecca has coached five NCAA Champions in his 18 years of coaching and 22 All-Americans.