Moon Township, Pa. - Freshman Chris Carper (Altoona, Pa. / Altoona) of the Robert Morris University men's outdoor track & field team concluded an impressive first season Thursday by taking part in the 2011 NCAA East Preliminary Round in the javelin at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex in Bloomington, Ind., on the campus of Indiana University.

Despite not placing in the event, the performance doesn't damper an otherwise stellar outdoor campaign for Carper.

In his collegiate debut in the javelin at the Wake Forest Open (3/18), Carper finished with a toss of 64.19 meters, which established a new school record and qualified him for the IC4A/ECAC Championships. For those efforts Carper was named both the Northeast Conference Field Athlete of the Week and the NEC Rookie of the Week March 29, 2011.  

Two weeks later Carper bettered the throw in his debut with a toss of 65.67 meters at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational (4/2) on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.

At the 2011 NEC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Carper earned silver by finishing second in the javelin with a toss of 63.20 meters to earn All-NEC accolades.

Carper also became a force in the 110-meter hurdles in his first season, posting the best time by a Colonial in the event with a time of 15.25 seconds at the Oliver Nikoloff Invite. He also scored for RMU in both the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles for a Robert Morris squad that posted its highest finish since winning the outdoor title in 2000 with 133 points to claim second place.