Becker led the shot put after the preliminary throws and after the first throw in the finals. However, Aubrey Baxter of Black Hills State threw 16.28m (53'5") then 16.57m (54'4 1/2") to win the title after having won the weight throw the day before.

Baxter earned Most Outstanding Performer on the women's side.

Becker came in with a season's best of 14.91m (48'11") and topped that on her third throw in the prelims with a 14.97m (49' 1 1/2") effort. In both her events at nationals, Becker either threw for personal bests or for her season's best mark.

The day before in the weight throw, the Swede senior narrowly missed another All-American designation as she finished seventh with a 16.01m (52' 6 1/2") toss. The top six finishers earn All-American status. The sixth place mark was just three inches better - Jessica Eaddy of Dickinson State threw 52' 9 1/2" to nail down the final spot. Nevertheless, Becker's 16.01 beat her former personal best of 15.78.

The women's shot put competition was equally tight as the third and fourth place finishers threw 49' 1" and had to settle up with a tiebreaker (next best throw).

Freshman Mollie Dahl and sophomore Ira Autrey also competed at nationals and gained valuable experience in that setting. Dahl's best shot put of the year - 12.65m (41' 6") earned her a trip to the meet in Johnson City, Tennessee but the freshman was short of that with a best mark of 11.43m (37' 6") in the preliminaries.

Autrey competed in both the long jump and triple jump against what turned out to be outstanding competition. Autrey's season's best long jump (6.91m or 22' 8") would have been just short of the finals as 23' 1/2" was the eighth qualifier. Autrey went 6.62m (21' 8 3/4"). In the triple jump, two competitors went over 50 feet in a battle for the individual title and a 46' 4" leap was the eighth best jump to get in the finals.

Autrey had a season's best of 14.19m (46' 6 3/4") but jumped 13.40m (43' 11 3/4") in Tennessee.