Brooke Smith Breaks Willamette Heptathlon Record

Smith also recorded a provisional qualifying distance in the javelin, but it was three inches shorter than her previous season best.

Brooke Smith (Jr., Idleyld Park, OR/Glide HS) recorded a score of 4,462 points in the heptathlon to improve her NCAA provisional qualifying mark by 247 points while taking second place at the Willamette Multi-Event, which concluded on Monday at the Charles Bowles Track. Photo courtesy: Willamette Athletics

SALEM, Ore. - Brooke Smith (Jr., Idleyld Park, OR/Glide HS) recorded a score of 4,462 points in the heptathlon to improve her NCAA provisional qualifying mark by 247 points while taking second place at the Willamette Multi-Event, which concluded on Monday at the Charles Bowles Track.

Smith, who previously registered a career-best score of 4,215 at the Northwest Conference Multi-Event Championships, added to her chances of making the field at the 2008 NCAA Division III Championships later this month.

Her improved score in the heptathlon broke a Willamette women's track and field record that lasted for 24 years. The previous record of 4,408 was set by Gayle Roth in 1984.

Smith also recorded a provisional qualifying distance in the javelin, but it was three inches shorter than her previous season best. Her throw at the Willamette Multi-Event, which led all competitors, was 129'5". She threw the javelin 129'8" at the Northwest Conference Championships. The NCAA provisional standard is 126'11".

The winner of the heptathlon was Bridget Johnson of Team XO. She scored 4,974 points, including the highest score in a single event with 906 points in the 100-meter hurdles. She completed the hurdles in 14.52 seconds, leading a quality race in which two runners broke 15.00 seconds, four more broke 15.7 seconds and all seven scored at least 684 points.

Smith scored more than 500 points in every event. She registered 764 points in the 100-meter hurdles at 15.60 seconds and tallied 736 points in the high jump by clearing 5'3" for her two highest scores of the competition.

Following Smith in the standings were two collegiate athletes who scored above the NCAA Division III provisional standard of 4,100 points. Caitlin McGrane from the University of Puget Sound scored 4,374 points to take third place and Terah Laack of George Fox University finished fourth with 4,350 points.

In the decathlon, the winner was Josh Lovell from Linfield College. His score of 6,798 included a high of 850 points in the 100-meter dash after he recorded a time of 11.05 seconds. Jeremy Lovell, also from Linfield, placed second with 6,630 points. He scored 830 points in the 100 with a time of 11.14 seconds. Both of the Lovells surpassed the NCAA automatic qualifying standard of 6,600 points.

Willamette's next track and field action is set for Friday, May 9 at the Oregon Twilight. Competition at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., is set to start at 4 p.m. (PDT).

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