May 15, 2008

Final Heptathlon Scoring

Mulit-Events Day 2

Complete Heptathlon Results & Final Scoring

Sacramento, CA--The Idaho State women's track and field team scored 26 points to give them a 16 point lead in the conference championship with the conclusion of the heptathlon event Thursday afternoon at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex. Junior Cassie Merkley maintained her lead in the heptathlon throughout the day to capture the title with 5,402 points. Her teammate Sydney Wendt, a sophomore, captured third place with 5,032 points.

Merkley began the day with a fourth place finish in the long jump where she jumped a distance of 17-09.00 then threw a distance of 145-09 in the javelin to capture first place and add another top-ten record to Idaho State history. Though Merkley excels in almost all of the events the 800-meter run is her most difficult where she ran a time of 2:37.96 for an 11th place finish. Merkley's final score of 5,402 points exceeded the NCAA provisional qualifying standard which is her eighth qualification for the season.

Putting together a number of top-notch performances allowed Wendt to capture third place in the heptathlon with 5,032 points, just 18 points shy of the NCAA provisional qualifying standard. She began he day with a third place finish when she jumped a distance of 18-04.50 in the long jump then followed her performance with a javelin throw of 95-11 to capture ninth place. Wendt finished strong when she ran a time of 2:20.95 in the 800-meter run to finish in second place.

Two Bengal seniors captured fourth and fifth place honors. Senior Amanda Janowitz had excellent finishes in her last two events to give her fourth place in the heptathlon with 5,030 points. Janowitz threw a distance of 137-09 in the javelin to capture second place and took first place when she ran a time of 2:19.17 in the 800-meter run. Senior Erin Bell finished in fifth place in the heptathlon with 5,020 points. She had a remarkable day and set the third best performance in school history with her long jump of 19-03.50 to tie for first place with Montana's Baily Cox who captured second place in the heptathlon with an NCAA provisional qualifying standard of 5,278 points.

Sophomore Sasha Buylova also gained a point for the Bengals when she finished in eighth place in the heptathlon with 4,542 points. Her best performance of the day came from her fifth place finish when she jumped a distance of 17-08.25 in the long jump.

The Bengals will continue to compete Friday and Saturday during the running and field events beginning with the women's hammer throw on Friday at 1 p.m. at the Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex.