Fresno States Justin Schwartz won the decathlon and Stephanie Rombach of SMU won the heptathlon on the second day of competition at the Western Athletic Conference outdoor track and field championships, Thursday.
Schwartz, a senior from Herald, Calif., took the 2002 title with 6,018 points. His wins in the pole vault and long jump helped solidify his decathlon victory. Schwartz cleared the vault at 14-09 and posted a long jump leap of 20-04 on Wednesday. His total point mark is third best in the conference this season, behind Rices Ryan Harlan and Ryan Walsh.
Im a bit surprised, Schwartz said. After the discus I didnt perform as well as I had wanted to, and I knew that (Ryan) Walsh was solid in the pole vault, so I had to pick things up and really push myself. Im excited that we were able to go 1-2, and Im feeling good about the rest of the week.
Walsh led the competition after the first day, but fell behind after a no height in the pole vault, one of his strongest events. Walsh won the javelin competition with a throw of 172-02, bettering his previous season best mark by over 10 feet.
Schwartz teammate Josh Alfaro finished second in the competition with 5,845 points, with Walsh in third with 5,611 points. Fourth place went to UTEPs Steven Douglas with 5,252 points, while Rices Brad Butterfield took fifth with 5,203.
After sitting out the 2000 and 2001 seasons rehabilitating a knee injury, Rombach roared back to win the 2002 WAC heptathlon title with a new Rice Track/Soccer Stadium record 5,268 points. The Germany native won the javelin and shot put events with marks of 139-05 and 44-08, respectively, and finished the final 800 meter event in second. Rombach edged day one leader Erin Kelly of Nevada in the final point standings by 30 points. Rombachs mark is also an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, and the best in the WAC this season.
I came here and I wanted to win, Rombach said. However, I didnt know my competitors, so I wasnt sure what to expect, but I knew what I had to do. I am so pleased that I won.
Kelly took second with 5,238 points, after leading the first day of competition by just 13 points. Teammate Tara Maves finished third with 5,210 points, Sally Vail of Boise State placed fourth with 4,863 points and Mara Brownson of Nevada rounded out the top five with 4,829 points. Rices Ruthann Gairdner scored two points for the Owls, finishing the eight-event competition in seventh with 4,677.
After the first two days of competition, Nevada leads the womens teams standings with 18 points. SMU is second with 10, followed by Boise State (five), Fresno State (three), Rice (two) and Hawaii (one).
Full competition will begin on Friday at 2 pm with the womens hammer throw. Running events will start at 5:30 with the 100- and 110 meter hurdles. Competition will run through Saturday night, concluding with the 4x400 meter relays. For complete results
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