Phil Caraher was a busy man this weekend, busy and successful.

Caraher, the men's track team's top shot putter, traveled to Princeton, N.J., on Friday to compete in the USA Mobil Championships.

There, the All-American placed sixth among the top throwers in the country in the shot put with a distance of 60'4". He then drove the four hours home from Princeton that same day to compete in the Last Chance Invitational at the Greenberg Indoor Sports Complex.

Caraher, however, did not need to participate in the Invitational, because he had already qualified for both the IC4As and the NCAAs earlier in the season.

"The reason I did was because I've done well in the past in here," he said, citing the "good facilities" as a benefit to him.

And at Greenberg on Saturday, Caraher not only won the shot put, he produced a season-best throw of 62'6".

"I was happy with that throw," he said. "My average (this season) is 61 feet."

Caraher attributed his better performance Saturday to having more time to rest and overcome his bout with the flu.

"My worst throw today was my best throw yesterday," he said after the Saturday meet. "One of the problems with (track meets) during the week is worrying about school and all. I got a good sleep (Friday) night."

Caraher has picked the most important time of the season to peak, as he will be competing this weekend in the IC4As, which features the best throwers in the East.

And following the IC4As, the 280-pound All-American will attempt to win the NCAAs, the meet which he has been training for since the season began.

Only the elite of the collegians gather at this meet, and Caraher said he will have to throw at least as well as he did on Saturday.