TRACK / NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS : USC’s Kiss Fails in Record Bid, but Wins Hammer Throw Title

Balazs Kiss, a 21-year-old freshman from USC, won the hammer throw Wednesday at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships to become the first champion of the four-day meet.

On a hot, humid day at Tad Gormley Stadium, site of last year’s U.S. Olympic trials, Kiss had the four best throws in the 17-man competition, including a winning throw of 246 feet 10 inches.

However, Kiss, was disappointed that he failed to break the NCAA record of 257-0 set by Ken Flax of Oregon in 1986.

“I threw badly because I didn’t sleep for two nights,” said Kiss, a native of Hungary. “I felt the pressure.”

In other finals, Penn State sophomore, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and had to quit track and field three years ago, won the discus with a throw of 200 feet 5 inches.

The other winners were Jonah Koech of Iowa State in the men’s 10,000 meters in 28 minutes 28.68 seconds, and Daphnie Saunders of LSU took the women’s long jump at 22 feet 2 1/2 inches.

In a qualifying event, USC’s Inger Miller won her heat in the 200 meters in 23.09 seconds, and UCLA’s Erin Blunt, the 1993 Pacific 10 champion, was disqualified in the 400-meter hurdles when she hit the ninth hurdle.