Cooper Thompson Class: Senior Hometown: Bakersfield, Calif. High School: Garces Memorial HS Last College: Bakersfield JC Height: 6-0 Event: Throws Birthdate: 02/20/1990

THIS YEAR: Senior Cooper Thompson figures to be among the top NCAA male javelin throwers this season after placing ninth at the championships last season.

2011: Capped off a strong season by placing ninth in the men's javelin throw at the NCAA Championships with a mark of 233-10 (71.28m) in Des Moines, Ia., one spot out of scoring, but he did earn second-team All-America honors. Reached the NCAA finals by placing seventh in the javelin with a throw of 233-0 (71.02m) at the NCAA Preliminary Rounds in Eugene, Ore. Won the Pac-10 javelin title with a throw of 238-6 (72.69m) on May 13 in Tucson, Ariz...His winning throw came in his fifth attempt and won the competition by eight inches. Won his second consecutive Dual Meet javelin title with a throw of 226-8 (69.10m) on May 1.

2010: Made an immediate impact on the USC program, registering the second-farthest throw in school history of 253-3 (77.19) to finish second at the Pac-10 Championships on May 15 in Eugene, Ore. Thompson briefly held the lead, but Oregon's Cyrus Hostetler took the lead and the title in his next throw, 2 centimeters farther than Thompson. Thompson had a tough day at the NCAA Qualifying Rounds on May 27 in Austin, Texas, finishing with a best of 206-11 and did not advance to the NCAA Championships, despite having the second-farthest throw by a collegian in the country last season. He took just one meet to move into USC's all-time top 10 in the javelin with a throw of 205-6 (62.64m) at the Trojan Invitational on March 20. That mark ranked ninth all-time at USC. He followed that up with a new PR of 226-0 (68.88m) in the javelin throw "B Section" at the Texas Relays to place second. then threw 233-11 (71.29m) to win the javelin competition at the Dual Meet on May 1 to move into third-place all-time in the javelin at USC. He improved his career best mark by over 31 feet in his first season at USC. Earned a silver medal for the U.S. in the javelin with a throw of 228-1 at the U23 NACAC Championships in Florida in July.

BEFORE USC: Attended Bakersfield College and broke the school record and set the Western State Conference record with a throw of 208-6 (63.55m) on April 25, 2009. Then set the State meet record with a throw of 222-0 (67.68m) at the California Community Colleges Track and Field Championships on May 15...The previous record stood since the 1993 season. Thompson did not take up the javelin until January of 2009.

HIGH SCHOOL: Thompson attended Garces Memorial HS in Bakersfield...Was a triple jumper and long jumper...Also played football and basketball...Was voted the Garces top 4-year athlete.

PERSONAL: Thompson was born on February 20, 1990 in Bakersfield, Calif...His hobbies include golf and basketball...Lists his favorite actor as Ryan Reynolds, musician as Angels & Airwaves and movie as Indiana Jones...Is a Human Performance major with a minor in Entrepreneurship at USC...Was named honorable mention on the 2011 Pac-10 All-Academic team.

CAREER BESTS: Javelin -- 253-3 (77.19m)