Piekarski 16th in Decathlon; Courtney Cruises Into 1,500m Final
6/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 8, 2006
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SACRAMENTO, Calif -- Matt Piekarski finished 16th in the decathlon, finishing up day two of the 10-event competition today with 6,594 points. In today's action, Piekarski finished 22nd in the 110m hurdles (16.71), 18th in the discus (115'0"/35.05m), 15th in the pole vault (13'5 1/4"/4.10m), and 15th in the javelin (154'4"/47.04), and fifth in the 1,500m run (4:34.48). He entered nationals seeded 21st.
"He was steady in the decathlon and to finish five places higher than your seed is encouraging, especially at nationals." said head coach Dave Uhrich. "He closed it out with a personal-best of 4:34, so that was a nice cap. Matt was excited to get to nationals, compete at this level and he had a good, solid performance."
In the trials of the 1,500m run, Michaela Courtney easily earned a trip into the finals by placing fourth in the first of two heats, clocking a personal-best and school record time of 4:17.44. Courtney becomes the first MU female to earn a spot in the NCAA 1,500m finals. The finals are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, at 3:52 p.m. CST.
"Michaela looked solid and definitely looks like she's ready for a fast final on Saturday." Uhrich said. "Each week at the end of the season, from BIG EAST's and Regionals, she's gotten better and more confident every time out. If she continues at that pace, she has a very good chance to place."
For the first time since 1982, the NCAA Championship will be televised live. CBS will air two and a half hours of live coverage on Saturday, June 10 (2:30 to 5 p.m. Central).
Players Mentioned
