Reigning Olympic High Jump Champion, Derek Drouin, in 4th place with 3940pts; tentatively sets Decathlon High Jump World Record with leap of 2.28m / 7'5.75"Santa Barbara, Calif. – Through the first day's events at the 6th Annual Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational, Lindsay Schwartz (USA / SBTC) and Hunter Veith (Wichita State) lead the Heptathlon and Decathlon competitions with 3528pts and 3991pts respectively. The Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational is held on April 7-8, 2017 at Westmont College's Thorrington Field in Santa Barbara, CA. The event is hosted by the Santa Barbara Track Club (SBTC).
DROUIN SETS THE BAR IN FIRST DECATHLON
The highlight of the first day came just after 4:00pm under cool, overcast conditions in the Decathlon High Jump, the 4th of five events on Friday. 2016 Olympic and 2015 World Champion in the High Jump, Derek Drouin (CAN), competing in his first Decathlon competition, cleared the height of 2.28m / 7'5.75" on his third and final attempt. While below is personal best of 2.40m / 7'10.5", the mark not only surpassed 2011 World Champion Jesse Williams' (USA / Nike Oregon Track Club) Thorrington Field facility record of 2.26m / 7'5", but also tentatively set a Decathlon World Record, which has stood for almost thirty years. In order for a Decathlon event record to stand, the athlete must complete the Decathlon scoring 7000pts or more. The current record of 2.27 / 7'5.25" is held by a pair of Germans, Rolf Beilschmidt and Christian Schenk, who hit the mark in 1977 and 1988 respectively. Drouin is currently on pace to surpass 7000pts with his 3940pts after day one; he is in 4th place overall in the competition.
ADDITIONAL DAY 1 HIGHLIGHTS
- Schwartz Leads Heptathlon After Day 1: SBTC's Lindsay Schwartz is looking for her third Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational title and put herself in a good position to do so, leading the competition with 3528pts over Canadian Olympian Angela Whyte's 3455pts. SBTC's Chari Hawkins is in third with 3422pts.
- Veith Tops the Decathlon After Day 1: Wichita State's Hunter Veith took control of the Decathlon with a consistent showing across all five events. He leads Wichita State alum, Austin Bahner, who is a 4x Team USA athlete and USA Indoor Championship Heptathlon runner-up.
- Rickman Sets Meet Shot Put Record: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo's Jacob Rickman, tossing the shot to a mark of 15.38m / 50'5.5", setting a meet record previously held by Decathlon World Record holder and 2x Olympic Champion, Ashton Eaton (USA / Nike Oregon Track Club) at 15.06m / 49'5" in 2016.
- Hopkins Sets Personal Best in Shot Put: SBTC's Tom Hopkins set a personal best in the day's exciting Shot Put competition with a toss of 13.40m / 43'11.75".
The Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational continues tomorrow with the community Youth Tri-Challenge and One Mile Run. The Decathlon will begin at 10:30am with the 110m Hurdles and the Heptathlon will begin at 12:30pm with the Long Jump.
