| SACRAMENTO, Calif. ?C The University of Arizona continued its strong showing at the 2007 NCAA Track and Field Championships, as day two was highlighted by senior Jake Arnoldˇ?s second NCAA decathlon title in as many years.
ˇ?To win two titles is amazing, I canˇ?t even explain how I feel right now,ˇ± said Arnold. ˇ?To do it so close to home makes it even more special for me. I had 25-30 family and friends here to watch me today.ˇ±
Arnold scored 8,215 points during the 10-event competition, outscoring his closest competition by 252. With the win, Arnold becomes just the second athlete in NCAA Division I history to win consecutive titles in the decathlon (George Mason's Rob Muzzio accomplished the feat in 1984-85).
ˇ?Coming in I was just trying to break 8,000 or 8,100, but to score over 8,200 is really exciting. I just felt so great today in every event, once I saw my hurdle time I knew I could get a big score,ˇ± said Arnold.
He entered day two in second place with 4,070 points, trailing Jangy Addy of Tennessee by 141. Arnold registered personal bests of 14.20 in the 110-meter hurdles and 44.42m in the discus during the dayˇ?s first two events, but still found himself nearly 200 points behind Addy heading into the pole vault.
In the pole vault, Arnold posted his third consecutive personal best, and fifth in eight events, to take over the lead from Addy. His clearance of 5.30m won the event competition, and was just off the NCAA meet record of 5.40m. He followed up his performance in the vault with a mark of 58.80m in the javelin, putting the school record and national championship within his grasp. Needing only an average performance in the 1,500 meters to secure a victory, Arnold went out and ran the second fastest time of his life at 4:34.22.
ˇ?I felt good in the 1,500 meters, but my legs tightened up a little bit as the race went on. I was trying to go for the NCAA meet record at that point, but I am very proud of the score I got,ˇ± he said.
On day one, Arnold had individual event marks of 11.12 in the 100 meters, 6.88m in the long jump, 14.15m in the shot put, 2.02m in the high jump and 48.38 in the 400 meters. His times in the 100 and 400 meters are both personal bests, and his score of 4,070 is a first day personal best.
His score is a school record, and the total ranks No. 2 all-time in the Pac-10 Conference and is No. 5 in NCAA Championship meet history. In addition to the school record score, his time in the 110-meter hurdles (14.20) is a school decathlon event record. The score is the best in the NCAA in 2007, and ranks No. 2 in the United States this year.
In the womenˇ?s heptathlon, sophomore Shevell Quinley registered a first day score of 3,353. This puts her in 12th place after four events, and the score is a first day personal best.
She had individual event marks of 14.00 in the 100-meter hurdles, 1.66m in the high jump, 11.50m in the shot put and 24.42 in the 200 meters. Her times in the 100-meter hurdles and 200 meters are both personal bests.
In the menˇ?s shot put, Jarred Sola and Adam Kuehl both advanced to Saturdayˇ?s finals. Sola placed fifth in the preliminary round of throwing with his personal best mark of 18.90m. Kuehl placed 12th with his best throw of 18.26m. Both athletes are competing in the shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time, though Kuehl was an All-American in the event during the 2007 indoor season.
In the 200 meters, Bobby McCoy finished the qualifying round in 17th with his time of 21.10. He qualified for the semifinals, but pulled up 50 meters into the race and did not finish. He is scheduled to compete in the 4x100-meter relay finale tomorrow.
On the womenˇ?s side, Marquita Taylor finished 21st in the 200 meters with her seasonˇ?s best time of 23.63.
The 2007 NCAA Track and Field Championships will continue tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. PDT. The Wildcats will have six athletes in action on Friday, with Quinley (heptathlon), Kuehl (discus), Daniel Marshall (triple jump), Gabriella Duclos (pole vault), Obed Mutanya (5,000 meters), McCoy, Marcus Tyus, Troy Harris and Xiong Xuehan (4x100-meter relay) scheduled to compete.
Notes:
-Arnoldˇ?s victory makes this the fourth consecutive season that the Wildcats have had at least one titlist. The menˇ?s team has 16 individual champions all time.
-Arnold won the 2006 title with 7,870 points, a year later his score was 345 points higher (8,215).
-Past Wildcats to win the NCAA decathlon crown: Arnold (2006), Klaus Ambrosh (1998) and Derek Huff (1989).
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