June 2, 2000
DURHAM, N.C. -
California senior Bevan Hart is in third place with 4035 points after the first day of the two-day decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday at Wallace Wade Stadium. The Sacramento, Calif., native is ahead of his 7890 career-best decathlon he turned in to win his second Pac-10 title May 13-14, in Eugene, Ore. At the conference meet, he had 3951 points after the first five events.
LSU's Claston Bernard leads the 19-athlete field with 4222 points, while Tennessee's Stephen Harris is second with 4153 and BYU's Curtis Pugsley is right behind Hart with 3972 points. Hart entered NCAAs as the top qualifier in the decathlon, while Bernard was third and Harris was 15th.
Hart began the day by clocking a 11.07 in the 100m, which was good enough for fifth overall and 845 points. Usually a minimum 23-foot long jumper, Hart faltered in that event Friday with a mark of 22-1.75 (755 points), finishing 11th overall. He then rallied with career-best performances in the next three events. He finished third in the shot put with a mark of 45-8.5 (724), fourth in the high jump at 6-7.5 (822) and sixth in the 400m in 48.41 (889).
Hart, who finished third in the decathlon at the 1999 NCAA meet, is striving to become the first Cal athlete to win a NCAA track and field event championship since Chris Huffins won the decathlon in 1993 with a school record 8007 points. Hart is on pace to break Huffins' Cal record with his best event, the pole vault, still to come Saturday. At the Pac-10 meet this year, Hart blew away the competition in the pole vault with a mark of 17-8.5, which scored him 1035 points.
The Cal women are tied for 12th place in the team race with 12 points after junior Maria Lopez from Newark added a point for the Bears for her eighth-place finish in the pole vault Friday. Lopez cleared 13-1.5, breaking her own school record of 13-0.25 and earning All-America recognition in her first appearance at the NCAA meet. UCLA's Tracy O'Hara, the 2000 Pac-10 champion, won the pole vault with a clearance of 14-5.25.
The four-day meet concludes Saturday on the campus of Duke University. Competing for Cal on the final day are Hart in the decathlon and junior Bolota Asmerom in the 5000 meters.
