June 25, 2005
CARSON, Calif. - University of Missouri post-collegian Fiona Asigbee had a personal-best day one in the women's heptathlon at the 2005 USATF Championships in Carson, Calif., on Saturday. The former Big 12 Champion earned three personal bests on the way to a score that places her in third with three events to go.
Asigbee started the day with the 100-meter hurdles. Running smooth on the outside in lane nine, Asigbee had the best race of her life, time wise, clocking 13.56, despite clipping the 10th-and-final hurdle before crossing the line. Asigbee stood in fourth after the first event with 1,041 points.
Asigbee went on to the high jump and competed for 90 minutes straight, clearing 10 bars, jumping over 5-11¼ (1.81m), the best of the field. Asigbee jumped at her personal-best bar of 6-¼ (1.84m), coming the closest on the second attempt. The marathon-like effort put Asigbee in second overall after two of her stronger events.
Asigbee walked into the shot put ring on her first attempt and hit 41-5¾ (12.64m) for an eight-inch personal-best addition to her score after three events (2,736).
Before the 200-meter dash, Asigbee was actually leading, up six points on Tracye Lawyer-Thomas. Hyleas Fountain, 2004 NCAA Champ, formally of Georgia is by far the favorite in the overall competition, and went into the 200 in fourth place with 2,684.
Asigbee ran a 24.68 in the 200, recording her third personal best of the day out of the four events, actually running into a stiff head-wind. Lawyer-Thomas and Gigi Miller had easier 200-meter races by the wind readings and came out on top of the overall standings after day one. Asigbee stands third with 3,652 points, a new personal-best day one score, besting her best from May's NACAC Championships by 12 points..
The heptathlon will conclude tomorrow with the long jump, javelin, and 800-meter events. Coverage of the meet can be found on ESPN2 starting at 4 p.m., central.
Post-collegians Christian Cantwell and senior Conrad Woolsey are slated to compete in the final of the men's shot put. Derrick Peterson and Timothy Dunne will run in the finals of men's 800 tomorrow afternoon.