March 11, 2011
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
After one day of competition in the heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, Cal senior Mike Morrison stands in 10th position with 3,173 points. The 2011 national champion will be determined Saturday when the final three events are contested.
Morrison's total is 10 points high than last year, when he scored 3,163 points and held down seventh place after Day 1 before moving up the leader board to capture third at the 2010 NCAA meet with a school-record 5,826 points.
"Michael had a solid day with a couple of near misses that would have improved his standing," director of track & field Tony Sandoval said. "He had a monster second long jump and just barely scratched. In the high jump, he was over 6-6.50, but nicked the bar coming down. The field is definitely deeper than last year. The pole vault, especially, will be critical for Michael if he's to place high tomorrow. He has a history of strong second days and we're looking forward for Saturday."
On Friday, Morrison opened with a time of 7.09 in the 60 meters, which was seventh among the 16 men in the field and just 0.05 off his season best. In the day's second event, Morrison did produce a season best when he went 24-1.50 in the long jump on his final attempt, which was six inches further than he had leapt all year.
In the shot put, Morrison posted a mark of 42-1.25, while he cleared 6-5.00 in the high jump.
Mantas Silkauskas of Kansas State leads the group with 3,347 points, followed by Kurt Felix of Kansas State with 3,318 and Lars Rise of Missouri with 3,317.
The final three events - 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1000 meters - will be held Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. PT.
In addition to Morrison, the Bears have two other athletes in College Station. Sophomore Hammed Suleman will compete in the men's triple jump and senior Allison Stokke will be in the women's pole vault Saturday.
For the complete schedule and results, visit the official championships website.
NCAA Track & Field Indoor Championships
Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium / College Station, Texas
Friday's Heptathlon Results (point earned in parentheses)
60-meter hurdles - 7. Mike Morrison 7.09 (851)
Long Jump - 3. Mike Morrison 24-1.50 (7.35m) (898)
Shot Put - 11. Mike Morrison 42-1.25 (12.83m) (657)
High Jump - 13. Mike Morrison 6-5.00 (1.96m) (767)
Day 1 Standings - 1, Mantas Silkauskas, Kansas State 3347; 2. Kurt Felix, Boise State 3318; 3. Lars Rise, Missouri 3317; 4. Miller Moss, Clemson 3292; 5. Gray Horn 3245, Florida 3245; 6. Bjorn Barrefors, Nebraska 3243; 7. Romain Martin, Texas-Arlington 3242; 8. Jeremy Taiwo, Washington 3223; 9. David Klech, Oregon 3183; 10. Mike Morrison, California 3173; 11. Kevin Lazas, Arkansas 3138; 12. Moritz Cleve, Kansas State 3077; 13. Mateo Sossah, North Carolina 3009; 14. Curtis Beach, Duke 3008; 15. Wesley Bray 2994; 16. Japheth Cato, Wisconsin 2905
