EUGENE, Ore. - Capturing his second First-Team All-American honors in the javelin, Navy men's track and field senior Jay Stell (Carlsbad, N.M.) placed sixth in the event at the 2016 NCAA Championship Wednesday night at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

"It is an amazing feeling to come back to the NCAAs and finish as high as I did against a very competitive field," Stell said about his sixth place finish. "Being able to not only compete here, but to finish my career with my best throw ever is a huge weight off my shoulders knowing I gave it my all."

After the first flight of athletes competed, Stell opened up the second flight of throwers with a program record-breaking throw of 242ft-2in (73.81m), which placed him third after the first round. He followed up with a mark of 236ft-7in (72.11m) in the second throw and fouled on his third attempt. Stell's first throw placed him fourth and helped advance him to the finals.

"Watching the first round of throwers, I was a little intimidated at first seeing at least seven throwers hit the 70-meter mark, which was a much higher mark than I had first seen when I competed as a sophomore," said Stell. "Once I hit the mark that I did on my first throw, it was a big relief because I knew that mark put me in a great position to move on."

Stell however had a hard time reciprocating his results from the first round as he finished the finals with a mark of 229ft-1in (69.83m) on his first attempt and fouled the final two throws.

"My goal all season, along with beating Army and defending our conference title, was to return to the NCAAs and to record a mark of at least 75 meters (246ft-1in). So knowing what I had done in the first round and the what the other athletes were already accomplishing, I was just trying my best to throw it as far as possible and my technique might have been lost in the process because of what I wanted to accomplish."

Stell's sixth-place finish earned him First-Team All-American honors, becoming the first two-time javelin All-American in program history. The senior thrower became just the fifth Midshipman in program history to garner All-America honors twice in a single event, which includes Zach Duncavage (Discus - 2012, '13), John Mentzer (10K - 1997, '98), Greg Keller (Steeplechase - 1992, '93) and Leo Williams (High Jump - 1981, '82, '83).