By JOEL CARLSON for GoGriz.com
Montana senior Lindsey Hall tied for 11th at the Mt. SAC Relays heptathlon Thursday at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif., and in the process added 126 points to her school record.
Hall scored 5,550 points to finish as the fourth-ranked collegian at the meet. Her score moves her back into the top 10 on the national performance list and was the fifth-best mark in Big Sky Conference history.
“And there is a lot more room for improvement and bigger marks,” said UM coach Brian Schweyen. “Lindsey is excited about what she did, but she knows there is more out there.”
Hall began the day 82 points off the pace she set when she scored her then-record 5,424 points at Montana State two weeks ago, but she eclipsed all those day-two marks Thursday to up her record.
She opened with a distance of 18-9.75 in the long jump, then had the meet’s top javelin throw of 153-6. Hall closed the heptathlon with a time of 2:25.22 in the 800 meters, one of the best times of her collegiate career.
“I was excited to get down here and compete with this level of athlete, because I know I have every right to be down here with them,” Hall said.
Hall’s long jump mark, which ranked only 16th out of 19 in the talented field, came on her first attempt. Her winning javelin distance came on her opening throw as well and came in an event that Hall is only now starting to get dialed in.
“That’s becoming a more comfortable event for me from week to week,” she said. “Now it’s less about getting a giant surge of adrenaline and more about just doing what I know how to do and replicating that exact same approach.”
Hall did not run under 2:32 in the 800 during the indoor season, and she ran an altitude-adjusted 2:30.89 at Montana State two weeks ago. She hadn’t been in the 2:20s in competition in more than a year, so her 2:25.22 was a breakthrough.
The level of competition certainly helped. In the final 100 meters of the race, Hall was battling Angela Whyte, a two-time Canadian Olympian in the 100-meter hurdles who competes for the Vandal Track Club.
“At the time I don’t think I would have used the word fun, but looking back it was fun to be able to race that many girls who are at that level,” Hall said. “And I feel like I’m getting back to the point where I’m able to race the last 200 instead of it just being miserable.”
Barbara Nwaba, who competes for the Santa Barbara Track Club, won the heptathlon with a score of 6,043. She was one of three athletes to break 6,000 points.
Hall wasn’t the only athlete competing in California Thursday. Junior Shayle Dezellem scored 4,396 points to finish 27th in the California Invitational heptathlon, which was held at the same location at Azusa Pacific.
Dezellem had marks of 16-7.25 in the long jump and 70-7 in the javelin. Her PR of 2:18.90 was the seventh-best time in the 800 meters in the California Invitational’s 45-athlete field.
The 56th Mt. SAC Relays, which are being held at Walnut, Calif., got underway Thursday night with the distance events, and junior Allie Parks got Montana off to a fast start. Parks ran a career-best 10:36.54 to finish third in the steeplechase’s B race.
The Grizzlies will have a large group competing at Walnut on Friday and an even larger group competing on Saturday at the Long Beach State Invitational at Norwalk, Calif.
Montana Sports Information
Montana Sports Information
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