Olympians, Eaton, Theisen-Eaton & Day-Monroe set meet and stadium records; Santa Barbara Track Club off to stellar start; Saturday night celebration at The LAB welcomes community Santa Barbara, Calif. – “The World’s Greatest Athletes” kicked off another 2015 outdoor Track & Field season at the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational presented by the Santa Barbara Track Club (SBTC) and Westmont College.
In the first day of the Heptathlon, SBTC’s Barbara Nwaba (USA), a UC-Santa Barbara graduate, leads the competition with 3,769 points. While SBTC's Thomas Hopkins, competing in his first ever decathlon, leads teammates Thomas FitzSimons, Jr., Keegan Cooke and Theodore Glasnow with 4,047 points.
Olympians Make a Mark in Santa Barbara
As part of the two-day competition a number of Olympians participated as guest athletes, including reigning Olympic gold medalist and Decathlon world record holder Ashton Eaton (USA). In Eaton’s first event of the day, The LAB Long Jump, he exploded off the line in his first attempt with an unfortunate scratch, but on his third attempt soared 7.93 (26’0.25”), a new meet and stadium record, showcasing an incredible level of fitness this early in the season.
Brianne Theisen-Eaton (CAN), the 2013 IAAF World Championship silver medalist in the heptathlon, also competed in select events beginning with a meet and stadium record in the 100m hurdles racing across the line in 13.26.
Also competing on day one was two time Olympian, Sharon Day-Monroe (USA), who tackled all four events finishing just behind Nwaba with 3,757 points. Day-Monroe, a Cal Poly San Luis Obispo alumni and NCAA champion, set a meet and stadium record in the Shot Put with a toss of 15.06m (49’05.00).
Day 1 in the Heptathlon
Of those athletes competing in the full two-day competition, a pair of SBTC athletes, Nwaba and Lindsay Schwartz (USA), lead the pack. Nwaba got off to a great start finishing right behind Theisen-Eaton in the 100m Hurdles in 13.38, a personal best. She also capped off the first day with a best in the 200m, winning in 23.94 into a -0.2 headwind. Nwaba finished day one with 3,769 points.
Schwartz set personal bests in the High Jump (1.75m / 5’08.75”) and the Shot Put (13.03m / 42’09.00”). She sits in second with 3,641 points.
Day two of the Women’s Heptathlon resumes tomorrow at 1:00pm with The LAB Long Jump.
Day 1 in the Decathlon
Hopkins, a 2014 Princeton graduate, joined the SBTC in the fall and completed day one of his first ever Decathlon in the lead with 4,047 points. Hopkins began the day with a 100m win in 10.94 seconds into a -1.5 headwind and capped it off with runner-up finish behind guest athlete Damian Warner (CAN) in the 400m crossing the line in 47.57 seconds.
Teammate, FitzSimons, Jr., had the best Decathlon day one of his career with consistent performances in all five events, finishing with 3,926 points. FitzSimons, Jr. also recorded a personal best in the Long Jump with a leap of 7.16m (23'06.00").
Day two of the Men’s Decathlon resumes tomorrow at 11:00am with the 110m Hurdles
Evening with the World’s Greatest Athletes Caps off Weekend
Celebrating the two-day competition and in support of the Santa Barbara Track Club, all competitors, coaches and community are invited to The LAB in Santa Barbara’s Funk Zone Saturday, April 4 at 7:00pm. Join us for a fun evening with hors d’oeuvres, drinks, music, and raffles.
Evening With the World’s Greatest Athletes information:
http://santabarbaratc.com/2015-evening-with-the-worlds-greatest-athletes/
Complete Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational Results and information: http://santabarbaratc.com/sam-adams-combined-events-invitational/
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