Heptathletes Get Jayhawk Classic Underway

Day 1 Heptathlon Results

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Three members at the Kansas men’s track & field squad kicked off the Jayhawk Classic Thursday afternoon, competing in the first four events of the men’s heptathlon inside Anschutz Pavilion. Senior Austin Hoag currently sits in third place, leading the way for the Jayhawks with 2,698 points with three events still to come. Not far behind is freshman Arnold Dinh who amassed a first-day total of 2,407 and sits in seventh place.  
 
Each of the Crimson and Blue-clad athletes, Hoag, Dinh and freshman Lucas Shaw, were taking part in their first heptathlon. The seven-event competition was also being held for the first time in Anschutz Pavilion’s 29-year history.
 
The Jayhawk trio began the day in the 60-meter dash. Hoag was the fastest of the Kansas contingent, clocking in at 7.55, which was the sixth-fastest time posted. Dinh and Shaw added times of 7.66 and 7.68, to finish ninth and 10th, respectively.
 
With the first-event jitters out of the way, Hoag once again took the top billing among his younger Jayhawk teammates, finishing fourth in the second event, the long jump. With a mark of 6.33 meters (20’9¾”), Hoag finished fourth behind Kansas State’s Reinis Kregers and Adam Deterding, and Colby Community College’s Desmond Major. Shaw leaped to a distance of 5.90 meters (19’4.25″) to claim seventh and Dinh tallied a ninth-place finish with his mark of 5.81 meters (19’0.75″).
 
In the shot put, Dinh was the top Jayhawk after he posted the competition’s third-farthest throw, a mark of 11.99 meters (39’4″). Hoag’s best throw was not for behind, a toss the measure 10.89 meters (35’8¾”), which earned him 539 points.
 
The final event of the day saw Hoag compete in his primary event, the high jump. An All-Big 12 performer in the event, Hoag cleared a top bar of 2.00 meters (6’6¾”) to pick up 803 points and jump from fifth to third as he concluded his first day of competition. Dinh leaped over a height of 1.76 meters (5’9¼”) to tally 593 points in his final outing of the evening.
 
Hoag will enter the second day of competition in third-place, just 79 points behind second-place Deterding. Dinh collected 2,407 points over his first four events, enough to place him in seventh with three events remaining. Shaw was unable to post a score in the high jump but still managed to amass a score of 1,677, good enough for 12th overall.
 
The Jayhawk Classic will turn into full gear Friday with dozens of events to be held throughout the day inside Anschutz Pavilion. The heptathlon will begin its final day of competition at 9 a.m., with the 60-meter hurdles. Follow along throughout the day by visiting the meet central page at KUAthletics.com and following on Twitter, Instagram and Vine at @KUTrack.
 
 
 
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