UH track standout makes history
Advertiser Staff
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Hawai'i's Annett Wichmann made heptathlon history yesterday, becoming the Western Athletic Conference's first four-time champion.
Wichmann, from Jena, Germany, ran away with her seventh WAC multi-event title at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Logan, Utah. She scored 5,450 points in the two-day competition — 564 more than runnerup Darcy Collins of Idaho.
Rainbow Wahine teammate Emily Sheppard captured the bronze with 4,701 points and Joy Saleapaga took 11th with 3,961 points in her first heptathlon.
Wichmann held a 160-point lead over Sheppard after Wednesday's first four events and was never challenged in yesterday's final three. She added wins in the javelin, which she won by nearly 30 feet with a throw of 152 feet-2 inches, and 800-meter run (2:26.35), along with a runnerup finish in long jump (17-11).
"Every heptathlon and pentathlon is different in its own way, and especially this one being the last one," said Wichmann, who ranks fifth nationally in heptathlon. "It was weird going into it. I can't believe this was the last time.
"I'm actually pretty happy with it. The sprinting events were not good, as always. I was not happy, but I didn't let it affect me too much. I was really happy with high jump, shot put and javelin."
At her first WAC Championship, the 2006 Indoors, Wichmann lost the pentathlon title by two seconds. She has not lost a WAC multi-event competition since and now has seven golds, and a career total of 11 medals in Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Today she competes in shot put and javelin — where she ranks first in the conference by nearly seven feet; she is in the triple and long jumps on tomorrow's final day.
Wichmann finished sixth in the heptathlon at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships, earning All-America honors with a school-record 5,670 points. After tomorrow, she will have her eyes on that, looking to improve her speed and long jump and put all the elements together to get her "secret goal" of 5,900 points.
"It would be a pretty good result," Wichmann said. "I can definitely do it, but in the heptathlon it's hard to put it all together. If I get a little better everywhere then hopefully ... if I make 5,900 I would be able to go to World University Games for Germany. I could represent Hawai'i and the whole wide world. It would be nice to be in one last international competition."
Sheppard won long jump in yesterday's first event, with a leap of 18-2.5. She dropped to third after the javelin (60-2) and could not catch Collins in the 800 (2:33.09).
Saleapaga, a senior sprinter, finished with marks of 14-3.25 in long jump, 109-7 in javelin and 2:36.61 in the 800.
Hawai'i, which has never finished better than sixth in WAC Outdoors, leads the team standings with 16 points going into today's first full day of competition. It is followed by Idaho (13), Nevada (5), New Mexico State (4) and Fresno State (1).