Heptathlon Day 1 Results

LOGAN, Utah – The University of Hawai'i heptathletes Annett Wichmann and Emily Sheppard hold the top two spots after the first day of the heptathlon competition at the Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday at the Ralph Maughan Stadium on the campus of Utah State University.

 

Wichmann leads the 14-athlete field with 3,233 points, which is 72 points ahead of her seasonal-best performance at the Mt. SAC Multi-Events last month. Sheppard is holding on to second place with 3,073 points, just 48 points ahead of Idaho's Darcy Collins. Joy Saleapaga, competing in her first heptathlon of her young UH career, is in 11^th place with personal best Day 1 total of 2,487 points.

 

Wichmann started the day with a second place showing in the 100-meter hurdles (14.99). In the next discipline, she finished runner-up to Sheppard in the high jump after clearing a seasonal-best 5-8 (1.73m). The Jena, Germany native blew away the field in the shot put with a heave of 44-2.75 (13.48m) and wrapped up the first day with a ninth-place finish in the 200-meter dash (26.67).

 

Sheppard had the day's fifth best time in the 100-hurdles (15.66) before winning the high jump with a clearance of 5-9.25 (1.76m), a new heptathlon event personal best. Sheppard finished sixth in the shot put at 32-6.25 (9.91m) and posted a blistering time of 25.24 seconds to win the 200-meters. Her 200-meters mark broke the heptathlon event record, was seventh all-time in UH history, and was the best mark in 26 years.

 

Competing in her first heptathlon of the season, Saleapaga recorded personal best marks in the 100-hurdles (17.03) and high jump (4-11.75/1.52m). The Bellflower, Calif., native threw a respectable 27-3.75 (8.32m) in the shot put and rounded out the day with a sixth place finish in the 200-meters (26.43m).

 

The heptathlon concludes on Thursday with the final three disciplines while the first full day of competition of the WAC Championships begin on Thursday.