Track Underway at Big 12 Championships
5/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 16, 2001
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Action in the 2001 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships got underway here Wednesday with the first day of competition in the women's heptathlon and the men's decathlon at the Frank G. Anderson Track and Field Complex on the campus of Texas A&M.
Baylor Senior Kerry O'Bric, who finished third at the 2000 Big 12 Championships and sixth at the 2000 NCAA Championships in the heptathlon, sits in sixth place through the first four events with 3,264 points. O'Bric placed fifth in the 100-meter hurdles at 14.29 seconds, tied for fifth in the high jump at 1.63 meters (5-4 ?), third in the shot put at 12.83 meters (42-1 ?) and seventh in the 200 meters at 25.53 seconds.
Freshman Jordan Willmann is ninth through the first day with 2,798 points. Her best finish Wednesday was an eighth-place height of 1.57 meters (5-1 ?) in the high jump.
Austra Skujyte of Kansas State leads the heptathlon through the first day of competition with 3,640 points. She is followed by Katherine Livesey (3,476) of Nebraska, Barbara Szlendakova (3,423) of Iowa State, Desi Hudson (3,306) of Texas A&M and 2000 Big 12 champion Michelle Moran (3,269) of Missouri. Next is O'Bric, followed by Eli Somerfeldt (3,094) of Missouri, Kendra Reimer (3,044) of Texas A&M, Willmann and Bliss Williams (2,707) of Texas Tech.
In the decathlon, Baylor senior Jeff Dacunha is 11th through the first five events of the decathlon with 3,424 points. Dacunha, who was eighth in the decathlon at last year's conference meet, enjoyed a third-place finish in the shot put at 13.12 meters (43-0 ?) and fourth in the 400 meters at 51.26 seconds.
Olavi Paavo of Texas Tech leads through the first day of decathlon action with 3,945 points. Knut Sommerfeldt of Missouri is second with 3,858 points, followed by Justin Conkling (3,828) of Oklahoma, Pat Pyle (3,746) of Kansas State, John Bloom (3,670) and Jake Boone (3,602) of Texas A&M, Casey Thom (3,595) of Nebraska, Ryan McQueen (3,559) and Aaron Smith (3,549) of Texas, Jason Matthews (3,536) of Texas A&M, Dacunha and Espen Strindeberg (2,431) of Missouri.
Action will continue here Thursday with the conclusion of the heptathlon and the decathlon. Finals will also be held in the women's hammer at 1:30 p.m., in the women's 10,000 meters at 8:30 p.m. and in the men's 10,000 meters at 9:15 p.m. The bulk of the championships will begin Friday with all events concluding Saturday.
