JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Gardner-Webb sophomore Natasha Akbarizadeh (Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada) placed 20th in the hammer throw at the NCAA East Region Championships on Thursday afternoon, beating out the entire first flight and finishing four spots higher than her seed.

With the performance, Akbarizadeh caps an impressive sophomore campaign that saw the reigning Canadian Junior National Champion add more than four meters to her personal-best in the hammer throw, and set a program record of 59.65 meters at the Mountaineer Outdoor Open on April 30.

The Maple Ridge, British Columbia native placed 20th out of 46 scoring competitors in Thursday's hammer throw, posting a top mark of 57.24 meters out of her three allotted attempts to sit in eighth place after the second flight. She finished ahead of four athletes from the third flight, placing her less than two meters shy of 12th and a ticket to the national championships in Eugene, Oregon next month.

Akbarizadeh entered the region championships ranked 24th in the East Region and 51st in the nation with a top mark of 59.65 meters on the season. During the course of the campaign, the sophomore posted top scoring marks of 57 meters or longer in five meets - including four straight to end the season.​