TRACK AND FIELD
Wichmann 17th place in heptathlon
Advertiser Staff and News Services
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After a slow start to the day, University of Hawai'i's Annett Wichmann finished strong to place 17th in the women's heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the A.G. Spanos Sports Complex in Sacramento, Calif.
The sophomore from Jena, Germany, amassed 5,191 points. USC's Jacquelyn Johnson led the 28-competitor field with 5,939 points. Missouri State's Tracy Partain finished second with 5,827 points, and Washington State's Diana Pickler was third with 5,757.
In the first event of the day, Wichmann long-jumped 16 feet, 11 1/4 inches � placing 26th. She followed with a throw of 127-1 in the javelin � the sixth-best effort of the day � and ran a season-best 2:22.10 in the 800, which ranked 15th.
Wichmann, who holds the school record of 5,374 points, was the lone UH athlete to qualify for the meet.
Meanwhile, LSU sophomore Xavier Carter became the first person to win the 100 and 400 meters at the championships, running down the competition in races just 31 minutes apart.
Carter won the 100 in 10.09 seconds, the 400 in 44.53, then finished his day as the anchor of the winning 1,600-meter relay team. On Friday night, he was a member of the gold-medal 400 relay team.
According to meet officials, Carter is the first to achieve four NCAA victories since Jesse Owens won both short sprints, the 220-yard low hurdles and long jump for Ohio State in 1935 and '36.
"It's really not going to hit me until a few weeks later," Carter said. "Jesse Owens, he's a legend. He's the one who started track and field. I feel honored just being put in the same sentence as Jesse Owens."
Carter's one-man show wasn't enough to prevent deep and talented Florida State from winning its first men's team title with 67 points. LSU was second with 51, and Texas third with 36.
Auburn won its first women's crown with 57 points. Southern California was second with 38 1/2 and South Carolina third with 38.