For Nevada javelin thrower Lilly Urban, her first attempt is usually her best.
But the Wolf Pack track and field star had to make her third throw a charm at last week’s NCAA West Preliminary.
After a hurl of 50.96 meters in her first attempt and 50.53 on her second, Urban sat outside a top-12 spot required to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
“I was stressing,” Urban admitted. “I was back in the grass waiting for everyone to throw, and I kind of freaked out stressing about, ‘Will I make it? Will I not make it?’ I knew my mark wasn’t far enough, so I was kind of scared but still motivated. I wanted to do it and just thought that we’re going all in.”
Urban increased the pace on her approach and unleashed a throw that sailed through the prevailing during the 91-degree day. After releasing the javelin, she walked over to her coach Scott Williamson and gave a head shrug, not knowing if it was good enough to move into the top 12. Then her mark flashed, a throw of 53.49 meters, moving her into eight place to clinch a trip to Oregon’s Hayward Field for the national championships.
“I was a little nervous,” Williamson said heading into the last throw. “That was a great competition with so many kids that got to that point that competed really well. She’s a javelin thrower that doesn’t necessarily like headwinds, and we kind of had a headwind and a crosswind, so that maybe affected her a little bit more. I knew she could do it. It was just a matter of putting it together and adjusting her technique a little.”
Urban has had a historic sophomore season at Nevada, breaking the school javelin record four times, including a personal best of 56.89 meters at the Mountain West Championship to win gold and clear the second-best throw by more than three meters. Urban’s throw of 56.89 meters ranks ninth in the nation with Georgia freshman Manuela Rotundo having the NCAA’s longest throw this year at 64.17 meters.
Urban has already earned All-American honors by being one of 24 javelin throwers to qualify for nationals. But she could be the first to win first-team All-American honors with a top-eight finish since hammer thrower Caira Hane in 2006. That’s the kind of potential Williamson saw in Urban when he recruited her out of Germany many years ago.
Williamson heard of Urban through an agency called Scholar Book and was recruiting her before the pandemic. But once COVID-19 spread across the globe, Urban decided to stay in her home country. At that point, she thought her dream of competing in the United States had come and gone. But Williamson reached back out to the Frankfurt native once the world returned to normalcy and lured her to Reno with the help of Nicola Ader, the German native who won seven All-American honors with the Wolf Pack in the heptathlon/pentathlon before serving an assistant.
“I was pretty happy because she could speak German,” Urban said of Ader’s impact. “Even though my English is not bad, it just felt comfortable and kind of nice to have someone that knows your culture and where you come from and speaks the language, which makes everything easier than I thought. There’s a great connection now. We have about five Germans on the team.”
Urban will be the first individual to make the national championships for Nevada since Ader’s senior season in 2022. She is the first Wolf Pack javelin thrower to make nationals since Marissa Hammond in 2011. But Nevada has sent at least one individual or relay team to six of the last eight NCAA outdoor track and field championships.
“That’s a pretty remarkable thing,” Williamson said. “When you start looking at the level of athletes that are at that meet and what it takes to get there, that’s pretty big accomplishment, and I’m proud of the fact that we’ve been able to do that.”
Next week will mark Urban’s first trip to Eugene’s Hayward Field, which is considered the world’s greatest track and field stadium. It underwent a $270 million renovation that was completed in 2022. The Wolf Pack contingent will leave Reno for Oregon on Tuesday with Urban competing Thursday. She expects to be nervous and excited when she takes to the track.
“I think it’s gonna be a mix” Urban said. “I’m pretty excited, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. But still a little bit of pressure, so I hope I don’t get too nervous. But I think it will be a great mix because it will be fun and pressure at the same time, and sometimes that means the greatest things will happen.”
After Urban’s family in Germany stayed up past midnight to track her throw at the NCAA West Preliminary online, at least one family member will support her in person next week. Urban’s older sister, Hannah, is making the trip from Deutschland to America and will be in Oregon for nationals, bringing a little piece of home to Urban’s biggest competition yet.
“It’s exciting because I often see my friends having their family here at conference or at prelims, and it’s just fun to see them having family around,” Urban said. “I know how it feels to have family around because when I was in Germany they would always come to my meets. To have her here this year is just a huge thing, and I appreciate that she’s making it the whole way from Germany to here.”
Urban didn’t get to Nevada until the middle of the semester during her freshman year in January 2024. Less than 18 months later, she will compete against the best javelin throwers in college. Urban increased her personal best from 49.03 meters last year to almost 57 this year, something she credits to working out with the multis group in practice to increase her power and speed.
Williamson said he quickly realized Urban had the work ethic and total package to make it to nationals. It perhaps has come quicker than anybody expected. But as Urban heads off to Oregon, she does so with Williamson’s advice of enjoying the moment and following the script that has led to so much success this season. And if she does that, she could return to Reno a first-team All-American.
“I don’t want to expect too much, but I really hope I can throw around 55 or 56 again, which could maybe place in the first 8,” Urban said. “That would be a really huge goal. I’m always proud to stand for the Wolf Pack, and I try to give something back for all they give me for studying here, for doing sports here. So, I’m happy to give that back, and I hope that next year it’s going to be more people competing with me on the national stage.”
Wolf Pack outdoor track and field All-Americans
* Nicola Ader (pentathlon, heptathlon, long jump)
* Nicole Wadden (heptathlon)
* Emily Myers (steeplechase)
* Caira Hane (hammer throw)
* Nicole Petty (800 meters)
* Marissa Hammond (javelin)
* Jenni Ashcroft (pole vault)
* Ali McKnight (heptathlon)
* 4×400 relay (Emily Costello, Annalies Kalma, Carolyn Ross, Halyn Senegal)
* 4×100 relay (Samantha Calhoun, Angelica Earls, Tanisha Hawkins, Kashae Knox)
