June 27, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. -
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Ways to Follow the Nittany Lions at USATF
Nittany Lion volunteer assistant Gigi Johnson stands in fifth place, while senior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) is currently 11th, with four events completed in the women's heptathlon, Saturday at the USATF Outdoor Championships at theUniversity of Oregon. Johnson and Hunter will complete their final three events on Sunday, while junior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) will take on the field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase final, and freshman Dan Sandrowicz (Indiana, Pa.) is set for the junior men's triple jump.
Both Johnson and Hunter got the day rolling with stellar performances in the 100-meter hurdles. Johnson posted the second-fastest time of the day at 13.14 - good for 1103 points. Hunter also ran well, going 13.79 - the sixth-best effort of the day, and worth 1008 points. Both athletes would go onto clear 5-3 (1.60) in the high jump, adding another 736 points to their two-event totals. Johnson would vault up the standings thanks to an impressive toss of 43-03.00 (13.18), which was the third-best among heptathlon competitors and worth another 739 points. Hunter posted a mark of 36-06.25 (11.03), adding 604 points to her total.
Hunter would fight back in a big way in the 200-meters, clocking 23.63 - the second-fastest time of the afternoon. The additional 1017 points would bring Hunter's total to 3365, which stands 11th after four events and less than 100 points out of ninth-place overall. Johnson also closed well on day one, running 23.88, which was third in the competition. Johnson's 200 performance brought her day one total to 3570, leaving her just over 50 points from a top four finish. The heptathlon duo will compete in the long jump, javelin, and 800-meters tomorrow. Nike's Hyleas Fountain leads the competition after day one with 4038 points. Diana Pickler of Asics is second with four events in the books with 3768.
The heptathlon is set to start at 1:45 p.m. on Sunday. Check out all the track and field action on NBC from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET, Sunday.
--NITTANY LIONS--