Seniors Joachim Olsen and Simon Stewart had personal best marks to finish second and third in the shot put at the 2002 NCAA Track and Field Championships in Baton Rouge, LA.

Olsen entered this weekend looking to claim his second NCAA Championship in the shot put. To do that Olsen knew he would have to defeat two-time champion and rival Janus Robberts of Southern Methodist University.

On Olsen's third throw of the evening he set the standard for the competition by throwing a mark of 70 feet, 9?Ľ inches. The career best throw would place Olsen in first entering the finals.

Olsen continued to lead the competition until Robberts posted a mark of 70-10?˝ to take the lead. On his last throw Olsen once again threw for over 70 feet, but it wasn't enough to better his previous throw or defeat Robberts.

"I was disappointed right after the event, but I had a great series of throws and I set a career best mark," said Olsen. "It's been an awesome battle between me and Janus and I know if it wasn't for that kind of competition I wouldn't have thrown as far."

Stewart also found a battle of hi own with Monmouth University thrower Jon Kalnas. Stewart entered the final round in fourth behind Kalnas, who posted his best mark of the evening with a throw of 63-8?Ľ.

"It was an incredible meet for Simon. You could see his confidence build from round to round," said Phipps. "It is an amazing accomplishment for Simon, considering he came into the competition seeded 12th."

On Stewart's fifth throw of the evening he posted a mark of 63-11 to take over third place. Kalnas had two more opportunities to take the position back, but could not better his mark from the third round.

"I knew that if I went all out and emptied the tank I could maybe finish in the top five," said Stewart. "To finish in third and stand next to Joachim on the podium was unbelievable."

In Olsen's four-year career at Idaho he has never finished below third in the shot put at the NCAA Championships for both indoor and outdoor. He has also won the Big West Championship in the shot for four consecutive years and the discus for the last two years.

"It's rare to have an athlete that has had the collegiate success of Olsen," said Phipps. "I would not be surprised to see him gone to win a World and Olympic Championship."

"I'm extremely happy with my career at Idaho. I've done better than I ever thought I would," said Olsen. " It has been very special."