RESULTS - HEPTATHLON | DECATHLON

MISSOULA, Mont. — Donté Robinson had a running mate Wednesday. No, not another decathlete. Instead, it was Viking heptathlete Kristen O'Handley, who combined with Robinson to give the Vikings a picture-perfect start to the Big Sky Outdoor Championships as the multi-events began at Dornblaser Field.
 
O'Handley set a personal-best first-day with 3,142 points in the heptathlon, while Robinson was just off his personal best with 3,834 points to lead the decathlon. O'Handley's 3,142 points are 80 more points than she scored on the first day of the Big Sky meet last season, and 158 points better than her score at the Bryan Clay Invitational earlier this season, where she set her personal best with a final score of 4,871 points.
 
O'Handley closed the day with her most impressive event, as she smoked the field in the 200 meters while winning in 24.23 seconds. That gave O'Handley a ridiculous 959 points in the event, and gave her the best time ever by a Viking in a heptathlon 200 meters. Joenisha Vinson set the previous best in the heptathlon 200 when she finished in 24.61 seconds in 2011, close to four-tenths of a second slower than O'Handley's time Wednesday.
 
O'Handley also moved into the overall top 10 in the outdoor 200 meters at Portland State, vaulting up to eighth with her time Wednesday. O'Handley entered the overall top 10 in the high jump as well, as her clearance at 5-05.00 (1.65m) moved her into a tie for ninth all time.
 
O'Handley wasn't far off her bests in the other two events of the day, either. O'Handley finished six-hundredths of a second off her best in the 100-meter hurdles while finishing in 14.82 seconds, and finished with a mark of 32-05.50 (9.89m) in the shot put. O'Handley's mark in the shot put beat her throw at the Bryan Clay Invitational by more than a foot and a half.
 
Montana's Erika McLeod leads the heptathlon with 3,260 points after Wednesday, 118 points ahead of O'Handley's total of 3,142.
 
Robinson leads the decathlon by 134 points over Montana's Brendan Thurber-Blaser, and leads the Grizzlies' Josh Riley in third place by 162 points. Montana State's Wyatt Thompson-Siporen, who placed second to Robinson in the heptathlon at this year's Big Sky Indoor Championships, sits in fifth after the first day, 207 points back of Robinson.
 
If Robinson can close out the win Thursday, it would give him a second straight sweep of the Big Sky heptathlon and decathlon titles, something no athlete in the history of the Big Sky Conference has ever done before.
 
Robinson got himself halfway to history Wednesday while setting personal bests in three of the five events on the day. Robinson never finished lower than fourth in any of the five events, and placed second in the first three events before winning the high jump.
 
Robinson was only three-hundredths of a second off his personal best in the 100 meters while finishing in 11.14 seconds to open the day. The real run started from there, however, as Robinson set lifetime bests in the long jump, outdoor shot put and high jump over the next three events.
 
Robinson cleared seven meters in the long jump for the first time in his career on his second attempt in the event, and then went even bigger on his third. No Viking in the past 15 years had ever cracked seven meters in a decathlon long jump, and Robinson did it twice out of his three attempts Wednesday. Robinson jumped 23-02.50 (7.07m) on his third attempt, surpassing his old best by four and a half inches. 
 
Robinson followed with two more personal bests in the shot put and high jump, both coming on third attempts. Robinson threw 38-09.75 (11.83m) on his third attempt in the shot put, and then cleared 6-07.00 (2.01m) in the high jump on his third attempt at the height.
 
The elevation of Missoula caught up to Robinson in the 400 meters, though he still finished fourth overall with a time of 51.08 seconds.
 
Robinson's total of 3,834 points stands only 22 points off his first-day score at the Bryan Clay Invitational, where he was on pace to potentially earn a national qualifying mark in the decathlon. If Robinson can match his second-day score from last season's Big Sky meet when the decathlon resumes Thursday, he'd finish with 7,419 points. For comparison's sake, BYU's Kevin Nielsen advanced to nationals with a score of 7,475 points as the final qualifier in the decathlon last season. Half of the 24 athletes that made up the decathlon field at last season's NCAA Outdoor Championships were seniors, however, meaning the final qualifying mark this season could be lower.
 
Robinson resumes the decathlon with the 110-meter hurdles at 10 a.m. (MT) Thursday. O'Handley, meanwhile, resumes the heptathlon with the long jump at 10:30 a.m. (MT).
 
Big Sky Outdoor Championships
Dornblaser Field
Missoula, Mont.
May 8, 2019
 
Women's Results:
Heptathlon (through four events): T-3. Kristen O'Handley, 3,142 points (100H: 4. 14.82, 866 points; High Jump: T-4. 5-05.00 (1.65m), 795 points; Shot Put: 11. 32-05.50 (9.89m), 522 points; 200m: 1. 24.23, 959 points).
 
Men's Results:
Decathlon (through five events): 1. Donté Robinson, 3,834 points (100m: 2. 11.14, 830 points; Long Jump: 2. 23-02.50 (7.07m), 830 points; Shot Put: 2. 38-09.75 (11.83m), 596 points; High Jump: 1. 6-07.00 (2.01m), 813 points; 400m: 4. 51.08, 765 points.