Long Beach State University
Big West Multis
Richardson Leads Decathlon After Day One At Big West Championships
5/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
May 9, 2008
Northridge, Calif. - Senior Chris Richardson leads the Decathlon with a score of 3,988 after Day One at the Decathlon/Heptathlon competition of the Big West Championships. Seperated by a week from the regular competition, the results from these events will still factor into the final point totals for the teams in next week's main event.
Long Beach State sent three participants for the multi-event championships, but saw all three shine on the opening day of competition. Senior Chris Richardson, one of the favorites for a National title in the event this season, took the top spot at the end of the day behind a very strong 23'10.75" long jump, easily outdistancing the field in one of his best events. Richardson also did well in the shot put, throwing a 50'6.25" toss, the only competitor to pass 45' on the day.
Those totals gave him a 254 point lead going into the second day, which should be plenty considering that his main competition for the gold, CS Northridge's Justin Johnson withdrew from the competition, declining to run in the 400m, the final event of the day.
Collin Cram also had a good day for the 49ers, holding on to sixth place with his better events coming tomorrow with a score of 3,421. He remains just eight points out of fifth place, and could also easily pass Owen Morse in fourth with a good showing on Saturday.
In the heptathlon, Katie Black's field work helped her take fifth place after the opening day with 2,824 points. Black cleared 5'5" to score 795 points in the high jump, and was one of just six competitors in the 15-woman field to clear 10 meters, throwing 36' even for the third-best score in the event.
Action from Northridge in both events concludes tomorrow.
