Isabelle Meckes and Brenna Karnish are accustomed to being highly successful.

The accomplished throwers recently showcased their abilities at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships.

Meckes earned All-American honors at the event, taking sixth in the discus for DeSales University, while Karnish concluded her career with an 11th-place finish in the hammer throw for Misericordia University.

“I was unsure going into this if it was going to be my last season since I was starting work post graduation,” said Meckes. “I’m going into accounting, and my busy season is during the track season. So I kind of went into it thinking that this was going to be the last for me - I’m still debating that right now, but I do believe that could be the case.

“Because of that, this was a bittersweet moment for me and it really was just something that I was trying to enjoy with all my teammates and my family, and just trying to end on a good note. So, I was satisfied with how it ended.”

Karnish capped what has been a stellar career competing for Misericordia.

“Honestly, it was everything that I could have ever asked for,” Karnish said. “I had a great team, great teammates, a great coach. So honestly, I feel like I just had a very supportive system behind me the whole way. It still doesn’t really feel that it’s actually over. I think it’s not going to hit me until training starts this fall semester, and I’m like, ‘Oh. I don’t have to go to this anymore.’”

Meckes makes history

Meckes, a senior, placed sixth with a throw of 46.91m at the NCAA Championships. She became just the third student-athlete in DeSales history to earn All-American honors (given to the top eight in each event), joining DeSales’ Hall of Famer Gina Lucrezi – who earned All-American honors seven times – and Veronica Wheeler, who was an All-American in 2018.

Meckes is the first thrower to earn All-American honors for the Bulldogs.

“Really, once I got to the MAC (Middle Atlantic Conference) Championships my sophomore year, which would have been my first MAC, that was really kind of a taste of like, ‘Oh, OK. I could work my way up. If I have to put more time in then I’m willing to do it,’” recalled Meckes. “That was really the first taste for me. Unfortunately, though, it was my sophomore year, and not my freshman year, because of COVID.”

Meckes certainly made up for lost time, winning the discus at the Middle Atlantic Conference meet three years in a row.

She also owns the Lynchburg facility record (44.81); DeSales school record (48.09); Middle Atlantic conference meet record (45.35); Middle Atlantic Conference overall record (48.09); and Susquehanna facility record (46.95).

This season, prior to her run of postseason success, Meckes was first at the Dr Jack M Tom’s Alumni Invitational (Lynchburg University), Muhlenberg Outdoor Invitational, Messiah Invitational, Carol and John Covert Classic at Lehigh (against 12 Division I and two Division 2 schools).

She was also seventh in the hammer at the MAC Championships. Prior to the NCAA meet, she placed first at the All-Atlantic Region Track and Field Conference meet to earn USTFCCCA All-Region honors.

Her best throw at the NCAA championships came on her second attempt.

“I truly went into this competition like, ‘I made it. I’m in the running with the other girls. I can very well place in the top eight and get the ranking for All-American,’” said Meckes. “I had a chance, if I had a really great day that day and had my best, I maybe could have even placed a little bit higher. But I truly just went in there thinking, ‘I’m here, I made it, and I’m at a spot with my throws where I’m able to get a national ranking.’ So it’s not like I needed to go and do more even if I didn’t have my best day. I was just happy to be there with everyone.

“I was very nervous when I started to actually throw during the competition. But I was talking to the girls that were competing with me and joking with them. I was just trying to enjoy it, because at the end of the day, it was just another meet.”

For her accomplishments this season, Meckes was also honored as a LVAIAW Sport Outstanding Athlete in track and field for field events.

The LVAIAW, founded in 1978, is made up of seven schools, Cedar Crest College, DeSales University, Lafayette College, Lehigh University, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Moravian University and Muhlenberg College.

Closing out a career

Like Meckes, Karnish was incredibly impressive throughout her college career.

At the NCAA Championships, Karnish finished 11th in the hammer throw with a toss of 52.78m.

She entered as the 10th seed and missed the podium by just three spots.

The experience was about more than just the outcome for Karnish.

“I feel like in my younger years, when I first started competing early in my college career, I feel like I would put a lot of pressure on myself and it would impact me in a very negative way,” said Karnish, competing as a graduate student. “And I wouldn’t necessarily always enjoy the moments that were happening. But I feel like this past season, I really was able to kind of fine tune myself as an athlete, which showed that mentally I have come a long way.

“So I feel like for this past year, I was able to really just enjoy what was going on and there was no pressure whatsoever; I just enjoyed being there with my team, going to different competitions and competing, and enjoying the different experiences I had.”

Karnish, who is set to graduate in December and plans to start in home healthcare as a physical therapist, currently holds the Misericordia women’s outdoor shot put and hammer records, as well as the indoor shot put and weight throw marks. A year ago, Karnish made her first appearance at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Division III Championships.

At the AARTFC Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Karnish was second in the hammer throw and seventh in the discus.

She captured the MAC title in the hammer throw and shot put, and placed third in the discus.

Karnish placed first at the Misericordia Invite in the hammer and shot put, and also finished second in the discus. She also won the hammer throw at the Messiah Invitational, Misericordia Twilight and opened her outdoor season by winning the hammer and shot put at the King’s College Monarch Invitational.

Crossing paths

Karnish and Meckes were both decorated high school athletes, with Karnish starring in track and field as a four time state qualifier and basketball at Marian and Meckes a standout in volleyball, soccer and track and field at Lehighton.

Their successes carried over into college, where they got to root each other on during some of the biggest meets of the season.

“We would both congratulate each other, at the conference meet, at regionals and then at nationals,” said Karnish. “We were there cheering each other on, which was really nice.

“It is really cool. I feel like it shows that our area also has a lot of good athletes that are produced and that go on to still continue (to) compete at the highest levels. So I feel like it’s really cool whenever I see any athletes from our area that are there at big meets or at big championships.”

Meckes has enjoyed seeing Karnish’s success.

“She does really well in the hammer throw. She dominates the hammer throw,” said Meckes. “Sometimes I’ll tell her nice throw, or I’ll chat with her in line. I wish I would have been able to talk to her more.

“This year, I remember seeing her at MACs, and she just did amazing.”

Meckes will always love competing, something she hasn’t closed the door on moving forward. But she’s also invested in the future of the sport.

“My boyfriend and I started a coaching/throwing club called Tough Cookie Throwing Club, and we are excited in trying to expand the world of throwing to anyone with an interest,” she said.

They will primarily focus on coaching within the Lehigh Valley and Carbon County areas. Those interested can find more information on Instagram @toughcookietc.

“It’s been my whole life for a long time, and I absolutely don’t want to completely abandon it,” said Meckes. “I’d like to stay with it somehow.”

Competition is something that will always drive Karnish.

“I’m actually going to start getting into competitive power lifting,” Karnish said. “I just started my training this week. I feel like I’m so competitive of a person that I just can’t see myself not competing. So I feel like that kind of piggybacks off my training pretty well, because I already was focused on lifting. I already did a lot of the main lifts that are included in power lifting, so I feel like that’s a good next step for me.

“And one day, I would like to come back to track and field, whether that’s still competing, or that’s as a coach. I would like to do that.”

One thing is certain, Karnish and Meckes are sure to find success no matter where they are or what they are doing.