McMorris Takes Third In Pac-12 Decathlon
LOS ANGELES – Hakim McMorris took third-place in the decathlon as California track & field advanced runners to finals and recorded top-10 finishes Saturday on day two of the Pac-12 Championships.
The Bears collected 13 finishes inside the top-10 of events and recorded 12 new personal records.
McMorris opened the second day of the decathlon competition taking another event victory, clocking 14.46 in the 110-meter hurdles for his fifth win in the first six events. He followed with a sixth-place finish in the discus throw behind a mark of 35.10 meters (115-2).
After marking down a no-height in the pole vault and taking eighth-place in the javelin, McMorris entered the final event, the 1,500-meters, in fourth-place overall. He ran a new lifetime best of 4:42.61 to finish third overall with 6,936 points, earning six team points for California.
Annie Boos competed until the end in a very fast women's 3,000-meter steeplechase run, coming across the line in 10:16.45 to take sixth-place for three points. Margie Cullen finished just out of the scoring with a ninth-place finish in 10:34.63.
In prelims on the track, Deshae Wise opened her championship season with a time of 13.21 in the women's 100-meter hurdle prelim to take second-place in her heat and auto-qualify for the event final on Sunday afternoon. Sonia Redon ran a big lifetime best time of 13.84 seconds, the tenth-fastest time of the day, just missing advancing to the final by two spots.
The Bears also got a personal record time from Moises Medrano in the men's 800-meters as he crossed the finish line in 1:50.01. Medrano grabbed the second qualifying spot on time and will race in the Sunday final at 4:30 p.m.
Ezinne Abba went up against a stacked field in the women's 100-meter prelim and she used a personal record time of her own to advance on time to the final. She clocked 11.51 to take the second time qualifying spot and will run at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday.
Saturday field events included Josh Johnson taking on a field of top competitors in the men's shot put and he came in fifth-place, posting a top mark of 19.12 meters (62-8.75) to grab four points for California. Jeff Duensing finished in ninth-place with a mark of 17.77 meters (58-3.75), just missing scoring points as a freshman in the event.
Krissy Smoot posted another personal record, this time by almost a foot and a half, to take eighth-place in the women's shot put with a mark of 14.93 meters (48-11.75) and move into the 10th spot on the Cal all-time list in the event.
Jai Williams leaped to a new personal best in the men's high jump, clearing 2.02 meters (6-7.50) for a sixth-place finish to earn three points for the Golden Bear men.
Asha Fletcher also posted a top-10 finish for the Bears, taking ninth-place in the women's long jump with a best leap of 5.96 meters (19-6.75), finishing just one spot out of scoring points in her debut season.
Closing out the night, Amari Turner posted a new personal record in the women's pole vault with a clearance of 3.95 meters (12-11.50) to take eighth-place in the event.
Up Next: The Bears return to action Sunday for day three at the Pac-12 Championships on the USC campus. Competition gets underway with the men's discus at 1:15 p.m.
Saturday's Results
MEN
Shot Put: 5. Josh Johnson, 19.12m/62-8.75; 9. Jeff Duensing, 17.77m/58-3.75; 12. Jake Porter, 15.69m/51-5.75
High Jump: 6. Jai Williams, 2.02m/6-7.50 (PR)
Long Jump: 6. Kamau Carlisle, 7.30m/23-11.50; 8. Sanjay Kettels, 7.18m/23-6.75
110-Meter Hurdle Prelim: 9. Riley Hunt, 14.22 (PR)
800-Meter Prelim: 8. Moises Medrano, 1:50.01q (PR); 19. Benjamin Micallef, 1:54.44
400-Meter Prelim: 11. Henry Larkin, 47.38
100-Meter Prelim: 20. Christian Catlin, 10.64 (PR); 26. George Monroe, 10.78 (PR)
3,000-Meter Steeplechase Final: 12. James Abrahams, 9:41.28
Decathlon:
Day Two: 3. Hakim McMorris, 6936
110-Meter Hurdles: 1. Hakim McMorris, 14.46
Discus Throw: 6. Hakim McMorris, 35.10m/115-2
Pole Vault: NH
Javelin Throw: 8. Hakim McMorris, 45.45m/149-1
1,500-Meters: 4. Hakim McMorris, 4:42.61 (PR)
WOMEN
Long Jump: 9. Asha Fletcher, 5.96m/19-6.75; 14. Windy Margerum, 5.65m/18-6.50; 17. Sydney Reid, 5.33m/17-6
Pole Vault: 8. Amari Turner, 3.95m/12-11.50 (PR); 12. Paige Martin, 3.70m/12-1.50
Shot Put: 8. Krissy Smoot, 14.93m/48-11.75 (PR)
100-Meter Hurdle Prelim: 5. Deshae Wise, 13.21Q; 10. Sonia Redon, 13.84 (PR); 16. Windy Margerum, 14.63 (PR)
800-Meter Prelim: 12. Mina Anglero, 2:07.98
400-Meter Prelim: 13. Adaeze Noble, 55.91 (PR); 16. Ryan Lacefield, 56.75
100-Meter Prelim: 8. Ezinne Abba, 11.51q (PR); 12. Maisie Stevens, 11.76
3,000-Meter Steeplechase Final: 6. Annie Boos, 10:16.45; 9. Margie Cullen, 10:34.63
STAY POSTED
For complete coverage of Cal track & field, please follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalTFXC), Instagram (@caltfxc) and Facebook (@Cal Cross Country/Track and Field).