Kennedy Holds Second Place after First Day of NWC Decathlon

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

PARKLAND, WASH. -- After placing in the top four in all five events on the first day, including a tie for first place in the high jump, Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) of Willamette University was in second place in the decathlon with 3,340 points at the the Northwest Conference Multi-Event Championships on Monday, April 15.

Willamette athletes were fifth, sixth and seventh in the standings after the first day of the heptathlon. Bekah Daniel (So., Silverdale, WA/Central Kitsap HS) was fifth with 2,430 points, Elisa Ahern (So., Lake Forest Park, WA/Shorecrest HS) was sixth at 2,218 and Molly Bond (So., Clarkston, WA/Asotin HS) was seventh at 2,175.

The decathlon opened with nine competitors, but one athlete withdrew after the second event. A total of 10 athletes started and finished the opening day in the heptathlon.

Peter Delap of Whitworth University led the decathlon with 3,371 points, as he earned a slim 31-point advantage over Kennedy. Ezekiel Smith of George Fox University was third with 3,211 points, while Cameron Brathwaite from University of Puget Sound was fourth at 3,092. Joe Cerne, also from UPS, rounded out the top five with 3,026 points.

Christina Dobbins from Whitworth topped the heptathlon with 2,581 points. Charity Arn of George Fox was second at 2,555 points and Beth Stam of GFU was third with 2,542 points. Maria Green, also from GFU, held fourth place at 2,477.

Kennedy and Delap tied for the lead in the high jump at 6' 1.5". Delap also won the long jump at 20' 10", edging out Brathwaite at 20' 9.25" and Kennedy at 20' 7.25". Other results for Kennedy were a second place finish in the 400-meter dash at 51.41 seconds, third place in the 100-meter dash in 11.60 seconds and fourth place in the shot put at 34' 9.5".

The top event score for Kennedy on Monday was 751 ponts in the 400-meter dash.

Smith of GFU won three decathlon events -- the 100-meter dash in 11.38 seconds, the 400-meter dash in 50.63 seconds and the shot put at 39' 9.75". He was third in the overall standings after taking fifth in the long jump and sixth in the high jump. The top score for any decathlete on the first day was earned by Smith with 786 points in the 400-meter dash.

Dobbins won three of the four events contested in the heptathlon. She won the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.56 seconds, was first in the high jump at 5' 4.5" and prevailed in the 200-meter dash in 27.01 seconds. Stam from George Fox won the shot put with a top throw of 38' 8.25".

Daniel scored over 500 points in all four events for Willamette, including a high of 717 points in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.98 seconds. She earned a time of 27.56 seconds in the 200-meter dash. Ahern recorded her top score of 654 in the 100-meter hurdles at 16.50 seconds, while Bond achieved a score of 639 and a time of 16.63 seconds in the same event.

The highest event score on the first day of the heptathlon was registered by Dobbins with 783 points in the high jump.

Action in the decathlon and the heptathlon will conclude on Tuesday, April 16 at the PLU Track.