MOSCOW, Idaho - Fresh off earning All-American honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, Idaho alum Blake Sturgis has punched his ticket to the biggest stage of his career, qualifying for the USATF National Championships, where he will compete in the javelin on Saturday.

"This is a great honor and accomplishment for Blake to compete in the USATF Outdoor Championships and be represented as one of the top 16 javelin throwers in the USA!" Idaho's Director of Track and Field Tracy Hellman said Friday. "To have a Vandal competing on this stage is a huge accomplishment for Blake and an awesome thing for the program."

The Spokane native has established himself as one of the top javelin throwers to come through the program in years, as his senior season saw him earn a podium at May's Big Sky Championship, three conference Athlete of the Week nods, and place his name second in Idaho's history books in April, setting the Whitworth Pine Bowl facility record in the process. 

Sturgis qualified for the top stage in American track and field with his record-breaking mark at the Pine Bowl, a booming 73.21m (240' 2") season best throw that places him ninth in the 13-man field.

Sturgis will take the runway at the USATF National Championships on Saturday at 10:10 a.m. PT, with the event set to be streamed on Peacock and USATF.tv.