Reigning Olympic High Jump Champion, Derek Drouin, finishes in 4th place with 7150pts; sets Decathlon High Jump World Record with leap of 2.28m / 7'5.75" on Day 1Santa Barbara, Calif. – After two days of competition at the 6th Annual Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational, Lindsay Schwartz (USA / SBTC) and Hunter Veith (Wichita State) remained at the top of the Heptathlon and Decathlon standings winning with 5773pts and 7610pts respectively. The Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational was 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).
SCHWARTZ WINS 3rd SAM ADAMS TITLE
With another trio of consistent events on day two, Schwartz successfully defended her Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational title, claiming her third win in four years. Kicking off the meet on Friday, she would run 13.70 (1021pts) in the 100m Hurdles as 2x Olympian in the Hurdles, Angela Whyte (CAN), would pull the field to good times under overcast and windy conditions. Schwartz would go onto string together consistent marks across the next six events with marks of 1.69m /5'6.5" (842pts) in the High Jump, 13.39m / 43'11.25" (753pts) in the Shot Put, 24.73 (921pts) in the 200m, 5.88m / 19'3.5" (813pts) in the Long Jump, 39.41m / 129'3" (656pts) in the Javelin and 2:23.53 (776pts) in the 800m to finish the Heptathlon.
Chari Hawkins (SBTC) was the runner-up with 5685pts. Hawkins won the High Jump on day one clearing 1.72m / 5'7.75" (879pts) and the Long Jump on day two leaping out to 6.04m / 19'9.75" (862pts).
WICHITA STATE'S VEITH WINS DECATHLON
Veith, a Junior from Wichita State, claimed the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational title over Wichita State alum and 4x Team USA Decathlete Austin Bahner, 7610pts to 7441pts. Veith set a personal best in the two-day, ten event competition moving up to 2nd all-time on the Shocker's all-time list behind Bahner, who was a three-time NCAA All-American and currently serves as an Assistant Coach for the squad.
SBTC's Thomas Hopkins was third with 7344pts in a meet where he would set a personal best in the Shot Put with a toss of 13.40m / 43’11.75″.
Reigning Olympic and World Champion in the High Jump, Derek Drouin (CAN), was fourth in his first Decathlon with 7150pts. By scoring over 7000pts, Drouin solidified his Decathlon World Record in the High Jump, having cleared 2.28m / 7'5.75" on Day 1. The previous record of 2.27 / 7'5.25" was held by a pair of Germans, Rolf Beilschmidt and Christian Schenk, who hit the mark in 1977 and 1988 respectively.
