June 26, 2009
EUGENE, Ore. -- A string of steady performances throughout Friday helped Chris Randolph move steadily up the decathlon standings at the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
By the end of the two-day, 10-event test at Hayward Field on the University of Oregon campus, the former Seattle Pacific star climbed two spots to a fourth-place finish, totaling 7,766 points.
Randolph, who won consecutive NCAA titles in 2005 and 2006 for the Falcons and now competes for V S Athletics Track Club of California, started the day in sixth place with 4,032 points, and was one of four men separated by just 14 points in a battle for third place.
Trey Hardee of Nike preserved his first-day lead and went on to win the championship with 8,261 points. Ashton Eaton of Oregon retained his runner-up spot with 8,075, and Jake Arnold of Asics wound up third with 7,984.
Randolph’s top finish on Friday was in the 1,500 meters, in which he took fifth place with a time of 4 minutes, 40.78 seconds. He was sixth in the javelin with a throw of 180 feet, 6 inches (55.01 meters), tied for sixth in the pole vault by clearing 16-0¾ (4.90 meters), ran 14.88 in the 110 hurdles for eighth place and threw the discus 129 feet, 2 inches (39.36 meters) for ninth place.
On Thursday’s opening day of the decathlon, Randolph tied for third in the high jump at 6-7½ (2.02 meters), was fourth in the long jump at 23-8 (7.21 meters), fifth in the 400 meters in 49.38 seconds, seventh in the shot put at 45-1¾ (13.76 meters) and 12th in the 100 meters in 11.33 seconds.
SPU sophomores Natty Plunkett and Daniel Friesen will compete this weekend in Eugene at the USA Junior Outdoor Championships. Plunkett will run in the women’s 5,000 meters today, and Friesen will be in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase on Sunday.
Falcon senior Jessica Pixler placed 21st in the women’s 1,500 meters on Thursday.