Cougars Harris and Jensen 12th, and 7th in Jim Click Shootout multi-events...
Harris, a junior from Kent, Wash., scored a total of 3,375 points in the first day of the decathlon which was 12th-best of the 18 remaining competitors. Harris tallied lifetime-best marks in four of the five events Thursday. He ran the 100m dash in a PR time of 11.51 seconds, long jumped a PR distance of 20-feet, 1/2 inch (6.11m), threw the shot put a PR of 43-8 1/2 (13.32m) which was second-best on the day, cleared 5-11 1/2 (1.82m) in the high jump, and ran the 400m in a PR time of 52.95, taking nearly three seconds off his previous best time.
Jensen, a senior from Tacoma, has a first day total of 3,043 points after four events in the heptathlon, seventh-best among the 13 competitors. Jensen opened with a 100m hurdles time of 14.20 seconds, high jumped 5-1 3/4 (1.57m), threw the shot put a PR distance of 33-8 3/4 (10.28m), and ran the 200m dash in 25.47.
Damian Warner, competing unattached, leads the decathlon with 3962 points. Arizona State's Samantha Henderson leads the heptathlon with 3450 points.
Action resumes Friday with the final five events of the decathlon and the final three heptathlon events.
The rest of the Washington State team will compete in the Jim Click Shootout on Saturday, in the four-team, scoring format that features Ohio State, Minnesota, and the host Arizona Wildcats.
The Cougar women's squad, boosted by javelin throwers Marissa Tschida and Courtney Kirkwood, are ranked #22 in the current USTFCCCA national rankings.
Bowerman Award candidate Jeshua Anderson will make his 2011 outdoor debut in Tuscon, as he'll run both hurdles and a leg on the 4 x 400 meter relay.
The Washington State press release can be read here.
The University of Washington is off this weekend, while Eastern Washington heads to Missoula, Montana for the Al Manuel Invitational – a dual scoring meet between the Eagles, Montana Grizzlies and Montana State Bobcats. This will be the first meet of the outdoor season in which Eastern will take a full squad to compete.
In last year’s Al Manuel, the Eastern men defeated the both Griz (102-93.5) and the Bobcats (137-63). The women’s team outscored Montana State (95.5-93.5) but lost to Montana (105.5-93.5).
The full Eastern Washington release can be read here.
Seattle University heads to Oregon to compete in the two-day Willamette Invitational in Salem, Oregon.
In the Division II ranks, Western Washington, Central Washington, and Seattle Pacific will be in Tacoma to compete in the J.D. Shotwell Invitational, hosted by the University of Puget Sound.
Finally, University of Colorado grad student and Seattle Pacific grad Jessica Pixler is a finalist for the NCAA's Walter Byers Post-Graduate Scholarship, which is awarded by the NCAA to one male and one female student-athlete who have a record of outstanding academic achievement and have shown the potential for success in graduate study. It is named in honor of the former NCAA executive director who was instrumental in emphasizing academic excellence among student-athletes.
Pixler ran the fastest time in the world this season outdoors last Friday over 5000 meters, clocking 15:25.68 at Stanford.
You can read the Seattle Pacific release here.
NOTE: The sports information offices of Washington State, Eastern Washington, Seattle University, Seattle Pacific, and Western Washington contributed to this report.
Comments