NCAA Championships: Clark 8th, Cepeda 10th In Heptathlon

Friday, March 14

Fayetteville, Ark.

9:45 AM

University of Northern Iowa

NCAA Indoor Championships

NCAA Championships: Clark 8th, Cepeda 10th In Heptathlon

3/14/2008 8:00:00 AM | Track and Field

By: UNI Athletics Communications

March 14, 2008

Complete Results | NCAA Championships Central

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - University of Northern Iowa junior Mat Clark stands eighth after the first day of competition in the men's heptathlon at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, while senior teammate Raven Cepeda finds himself in 10th place following four events.

Clark amassed a total of 3,102 points Friday at the Randal Tyson Track Center, while Cepeda owns a score of 3,035.

Also Friday, UNI junior Tyler Mulder secured a place in the finals of the men's 800 meters by clocking the second-fastest time in the event's preliminaries. Mulder took second place in his preliminary heat in a time of 1:49.05, finishing just behind heat winner Elkana Kosgei of LSU, whose clocking of 1:49.03 was the top overall preliminary time.

The run was Mulder's second-fastest 800-meter performance this season. He ran 1:48.17 earlier this season to enter the NCAA meet ranked No. 6 nationally.

Mulder, who earned All-America honors with his 10th-place finish at last year's NCAA Indoor Championships, will compete in the 800 finals at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday.

Florida State's Gonzalo Barroilhet owns the lead in the heptathlon with 3,265 points heading into the final three events. Tennessee's Jangy Addy is second with 3,223 points, followed by Nick Adcock of Missouri in third with 3,195, Justin Johnson of Cal State-Northridge in fourth with 3,157 and Florida's Mike Morrison in fifth with a total of 3,131 points.

Both Clark and Cepeda began the day strong, but struggles for each in the day's final event, the high jump, caused the pair to slip in the overall standings.

Cepeda, who entered the meet as the national leader in the heptathlon with a score of 5,906, opened the day by matching his career-best effort in the 60 meters with a clocking of 7.09 seconds and stood 12th in the overall standings through two events. He posted a leap of 21 feet, 6 3/4 inches in the long jump.

Cepeda moved into fifth with a strong performance in the shot put, finishing second behind Addy with a throw of 48-11. The heave was Cepeda's third-best effort of the season

Through three events, Cepeda owned a score of 2,348, with Addy's total of 2,562 good for the event lead.

Clark, after running a 7.14 in the 60 dash, posted a personal-best effort in the long jump by leaping 23-8. That jump had Clark seventh in the overall standings after two events with a total of 1,697 points. He added another career-best performance in the shot put, posting a throw of 42-6 3/4 to move into third place in the overall standings.

Clark owned a score of 2,362 after three events, just 200 points off Addy's event-leading total.

Both UNI athletes lost ground in the high jump, however, with Clark clearing 6 feet, 4 inches and Cepeda posting a best leap of 6-1 1/2. Cepeda had jumped 6-6 1/4 this season, while Clark owned a season-best of 6-7 1/2.

Adcock and North Carolina's Mateo Sossah each equaled the NCAA meet record of 6-9 3/4 in a tie for the win in the high jump.

The heptathlon competition concludes Saturday with the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run. The pole vault and 60 hurdles are among Cepeda's strongest events, while Clark traditionally has performed well in the 1,000 meters.

Junior Tyler Mulder is the only other UNI athlete to compete Friday, with his preliminary heat of the men's 800-meter run scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

Live event results, as well as a free live video feed from the championships, are available at the athletics web site of host school Arkansas, www.ladybacks.com.