Decathlon and heptathlon kick off Relays

The 102nd running of the Penn Relays started yesterday with the first five events in the men's decathlon and the first four events of the women's heptathlon. Thirteen decathletes competed in the 100-meter dash, the high jump, the long jump, the 400-meter dash and the shot put yesterday. Brendon Falconer of Kent State University leads after the first day of competition with a total of 3,917 points. The remaining five events will be contested today at Franklin Field. Falconer placed first in only the long jump with a jump of 23 feet, 10 inches, but had a strong all-around performance placing at least sixth in all other competitions. He placed second to Jamie Cook of Penn State in the shot put with a throw of 44 feet 3/4 of an inch. Cook is in second place in the overall standings with 3901 total points and placing fifth or better in all events. Last year's winner, Liberty's Ryan Werner, has returned for another run at a Penn Relays victory. He is only in sixth place after one day of competition, but he is expected to make up the difference in his stronger events today. Navy's Bill Higginbottom won the 100-meter and 400-meter dashes and propelled himself to a fourth-place standing with 3655 total points. He was behind Army's Jon Pontius who won the high jump by over four inches jumping 6-8.75 and compiling 3855 total points. The Quakers have two athletes entered in the field of 13. Sophomores Eric Hyde and Brian Smith stand in 10th and 13th places respectively. Hyde had a solid all-around personal performance today that included a fifth-place finish in the long jump. The Penn women's team, however, was absent from the heptathlon, as Angie Jiminez is resting up for Heps next week. "It's too soon to double up," Jiminez explained. "I was very happy," Hyde said. "It's one of my best first days in the decathlon and I should improve my second day score a lot." Hyde added that he hopes to improve his personal record by 300 points today after his strong start of 3444 total points. Although the top performers are putting up good numbers, no one seems ready to make a run at the record 8322 points scored by Mike Ramas of Washington University in 1986. In the women's events, the first four parts of the heptathlon were completed yesterday. Tania Longe of Michigan leads the overall competition with 3323 points. She won the high jump and placed second in the 100-meter hurdles. Longe rolled over her competition in the shot put, winning by over eight feet with a throw of 43-4.25. Courtney Ruckert tied Longe in the high jump with a height of 5-7 and is in second place with 3098 points. She also finished third in the shot put and the 200-meter run. Today at Franklin Field, the remaining events of the heptathlon and decathlon will take place and the winners will be decided. The men will compete in the 110-meter high hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500-meter run. The women will close out the event with long jump, javelin throw, and 800-meter run.