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| Combined Events Have Strong First Day In Arizona Release: 04/04/2013 Courtesy: Linda Sprouse, Assistant SID | ||||||
TUCSON, Ariz. – After a solid first day of competition on Thursday, the University of Colorado looks poised to finish strong in the heptathlon and decathlon at the Jim Click Combined Events. Senior Brianne Beemer currently sits in sixth place with 3,211 points and redshirt freshman Abrianna Torres is seventh with 3,124 points. Junior Genny Mayden is also in the top eight with 3,100 points. Beemer had an excellent first day and didn’t waste any time getting started. She recorded the eighth-fastest time in CU heptathlon history in the 100-meter hurdles at 14.46, which was sixth overall at the meet. Beemer tied for seventh in the high jump after clearing 5-5.75 and earned a mark of 35-5.25 in the shot put which was 11[SUP]th[/SUP] overall. She finished the day with a fifth-place finish in the 200, clocking 25.20. “Bri set four new lifetime bests including her first day score,” assistant coach Lindsey Malone said. “She is well above her first day score from last year’s Pac-12 Championships where she placed fourth. Should tomorrow go as well as today has, she will likely represent CU at the NCAA Championships.” "The meet is splendid in ideal conditions and great company,” said Beemer. “I am feeling more consistent as an athlete and our team supports each other well. We are ready for another fun day on the track tomorrow." Not to be outdone, Torres had an extremely good first heptathlon for the Buffs as she picked up personal bests in all four of the day’s events. She was eighth in the 100-hurdles (14.86), jumped 5-3.25 for 10[SUP]th[/SUP] place in the high jump and raced to a time of 26.07 in the 200. Torres’ best event of the day, by far, was the shot put where she launched a toss of 42-7 to break CU’s record in the heptathlon that had stood since 1978. Lori West previously held the record at 41-9.25. Torres was the runner-up to Nike’s Bette Wade who recorded a throw of 44-3.25. “Abrianna has continued her reign in the shot put by breaking the heptathlon shot put record,” Malone said. “This is truly an exceptional freshman year in the making for Abrianna and we are still early in the season.” Torres joined some elite company in the process as she became just the third female at CU to throw the shot put in the heptathlon further than 40 feet. West did so twice (her other throw was 41-6.75) and Carol Hood did it once (40-9.50) at the Big Eight Championship in 1991. “Today was an awesome day on the track,” Torres said. “I was thrilled with my shot put and that was a large PR for me. And I had some other solid events to go along with that. I can't wait to see what tomorrow brings.” Only 21 points behind Torres is Mayden. She also had a good day starting with a time of 14.99 in the 100-hurdles. Mayden tied for seventh in the high jump with Beemer, clearing 5-5.75, and was sixth in the shot put (38-5.50). She wrapped up the day in the 200 with a time of 26.12. “Genny is a mere 23 points off of her first day Pac-12 score where she finished in third place,” Malone said. “She had a good day and should do well again tomorrow.” The Buffs also had two other women competing in the heptathlon. Holly Odneal is in 13[SUP]th[/SUP] place with 2,796 points and Gwen Ricco is 15[SUP]th[/SUP] (2,775). On the men’s side, junior Brock Emory is in ninth-place with 3,573 points and teammate Jason DeWitt is 20[SUP]th[/SUP] (3,170). “Brock had four lifetime personal bests and is competing like a mature decathlete,” Malone said. “He is already nearly 250 points above his best score.” Emory jumped 20-10.75 in the long jump and cleared 6-6.25 in the high jump, which tied for third overall at the meet. His high jump mark also tied for seventh in CU’s decathlon history. In the other three events, Emory ran 11.34 in the 100, 51.35 in the 400 and threw the shot put 38-02. “Day one was awesome,” Emory said. “Great weather, competition and atmosphere here in Tucson. It feels so good to be at a decathlon again since I didn't compete in one last year. I’m excited about getting back to the track to compete tomorrow.” Overall it was a good first day for the Buffs and Malone is very excited about getting back to work on Friday for the second and final day of action. “We had a tremendous first day of competition and I am incredibly proud of our team,” Malone said. “This meet is a great opportunity for us to get some impressive marks at a very early point in the season. We are excited to get some rest and get back to work tomorrow.” JIM CLICK COMBINED EVENTS Roy P. Drachman Stadium (Tucson, Ariz.) CU Athletes Only Women’s Heptathlon Day 1 Points: (1. Bette Wade, Nike, 3,688) 6. Brianne Beemer, 3,211; 7. Abrianna Torres, 3,124; 8. Genny Mayden, 3,100; 13. Holly Odneal, 2,796; 15. Gwen Ricco, 2,783. 100-Meter Hurdles: (1. Keia Pinnick, ASU, 13.71) 6. Beemer, 14.26; 8. Torres, 14.86; 10. Mayden, 14.99; 12. Odneal, 15.19; 13. Ricco, 15.24 High Jump: (1. Bette Wade, Nike, 5-11.50) t7. Mayden, 5-5.75; t7. Beemer, 5-5.75; t10. Torres, 5-3.25; t13. Ricco, 5-1; t13. Odneal, 5-1 Shot Put: (1. Bette Wade, Nike, 44-3.25) 2. Torres, 42-7; 6. Mayden, 38-5.50; 7. Odneal, 38-2; 11. Beemer, 35-5.25; 15. Ricco, 32-10.25 200-Meters: (1. Keia Pinnick, ASU, 23.90) 5. Beemer, 25.20; 8. Mayden, 26.01; 10. Torres, 26.07; 13. Ricco, 26.46; 16. Odneal, 27.59 Men’s Decathlon Day 1 Points: (1. Tomas Kirielius, Kansas St., 3,939) 9. Brock Emory, 3,573; 20. Jason DeWitt, 3,170 100-Meters: (1. Derrick Harris, CSU Northridge, 10.99) 6. Emory, 11.34; 22. DeWitt, 11.83 Long Jump: (1. Devin Dick, Kansas St., 23-5.50) 14. Emory, 20-10.75; 15. DeWitt, 20-7.25 Shot Put: (1. Patrick Arbour, unattached, 50-3.25) 17. DeWitt, 38-2; 18. Emory, 37-6 High Jump: (1. Two tied at 6-7.50) t3. Emory, 6-6.25; t18. DeWitt, 5-11.25 400-Meter: (1. Adam Salzmann, unattached, 48.82) 9. Emory, 51.35; 20. DeWitt, 54.54 from cubuffs.com |
