KINGSVILLE, Tex. (May 24) – Day two of the NCAA Outdoor Championships featured the finale of the multi-events, as Braydon Maier and HarLee Ortega competed for All-American honors on Friday.
Throughout the season, Maier has thrived in day two of the decathlon. The trend continued at nationals. Maier finished inside the top 10 in each event that took place on Friday. He'd go on to finish the day in seventh place, earning First Team All-American honors for his efforts.
"Braydon has consistently been strong during the second day of the decathlon throughout the season," CWU head coach Kevin Adkisson said. "He didn't do anything amazing as far as marks in each event are concerned, but every event was solid. That consistency helped him move up throughout the competition. It's great for him to come out of his sophomore year with two All-American finishes already."
Maier opened the day with a strong performance in the discus. He heaved the disc 36.57m (119-11) for a seventh-place finish in the event. Up next was the pole vault, possibly Maier's strongest event. He cleared 4.40m (14-05.25), sixth best in the event.
Maier continued to perform well in the javelin throw. Maier put together a toss of 47.27, landing him in eighth for the event. The decathlon wrapped up with the 1,500-meter race. Maier turned it up one more notch, hustling to a fifth-place finish in the race with a time of 4:40.63.
The final three events in the heptathlon took place on Friday. Ortega began the day in 10th place, with the long jump, javelin throw and 800-meter race left in the competition. During the day, Ortega grabbed 4,904 points, putting her in her in 11th place overall. Ortega walks away with a Second Team All-American nod.
Ortega's best long jump gave her a mark of 5.19m (17-0.50). The jump gave her 12th in the event. She'd come back strong in the javelin throw. The Idaho native threw 36.23m (118-10). The mark was a new personal-best for Ortega as took seventh place in the event. Ortega's best performance came in the 800-meter race. Ortega hustled to a time of 2:24.30, earning her a sixth-place finish in the event.
"HarLee just had a rough long jump," Adkisson said. "The wind was playing a factor and she struggled with getting a legal mark. Everyone only gets three attempts, so she was handcuffed into getting a legal mark that wasn't as good as it could have been. She responded really well by setting a new personal record in javelin. We're still really proud of everything HarLee has accomplished throughout her career."
Mariyah Vongsaveng competed in the prelims for the 100-meter hurdles. Vongsaveng ran in the third heat. She'd finish second in the heat with a time of 13.97. The time was the sixth fastest overall and allowed her to transfer to tomorrow's finals.
"Super excited for Mairyah," Adkisson said. "She's been to four national meet and this is her first final. She's worked so hard and done great things for us. It's great to see her in the finals."
In tomorrow's finale of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Halle Irvine will get the Wildcats started in Pole Vault at 12:30 p.m. PST. Vongsaveng is set for the 100-meter hurdles finals, scheduled for 3:55 p.m. PST. Sidney Trinidad will compete for the 400-meter hurdles championship at 5:20 p.m. PST. At 6:05 p.m. PST, Alexa Shindruk will try for her second All-American award in the 5,000-meter race.
