Missouri State's Tracy Partain won the heptathlon with 5,649 points at Friday's conclusion of the Third Annual Audrey Walton Combined Events in Columbia, Mo. Partain's score automatically qualifies her for the NCAA National Championship meet in June.
Partain began Friday's final three events of the heptathlon in second place to Tiger post-collegian Fiona Asigbee. Partain dominated the long jump with a leap of 18'8 1/2", earning her the win in the event. She also conquered the javelin throw with a distance of 129'10", a personal-best. In the final event of the day, the 800-meter run, Partain finished second with a time of 2:20.18. Partain's overall score of 5,649 earned her the win and automatically qualified her for the NCAA National Championship by surpassing the automatic qualifying mark of 5,500. Her score also smashed the varsity record she set in Sacramento, Calif., in 2005, by 250 points and she is ranked third-best in the nation entering the weekend.
MSU's Kim Carter made a strong showing in the conclusion of the heptathlon by tallying up 4,824 points, earning her sixth place. Carter finished fifth in the long jump with a jump of 17'10 3/4" and sixth in the javelin throw with a mark of 112'4". In the 800-meter run, Carter placed eighth in 2:31.76. Her overall score is a career best.
In Knoxville, Tenn., at the University of Tennessee Sea Ray Relays, MSU's Clarissa Codrington finished 26th in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:39.47. Teammate Kristin Wolkey finished 32nd with a time of 4:43.29, improving her personal-best mark by nearly ten seconds. In the men's 1,500-meter run, Kevin Born finished 20th for the Bears in 3:56.40 and Jonathan Rono placed 23rd in 3:56.84.
The MSU track and field teams will compete in the final day of the 10th annual Tom Botts Invitational on Saturday, April 15, in Columbia, Mo. The Invite is scheduled to begin at 12 noon and conclude with the 4x400-meter relay at 3 p.m.
Missouri State will also have selected distance runners competing at the conclusion of the 40th annual University of Tennessee Sea Ray Relays, in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, April 15.
