April 18, 2006
COLUMBIA, Mo.--Missouri senior Hans Uldal was honored by the Big 12 Conference on Tuesday, being named as the conference's Athlete of the Week. The four-time All-American Tiger won the Audrey Walton Combined Events Men's Decathlon with a school-record score of 8,018, the fourth-best in the World for the year. This is the first such honor for Uldal in his career.
Uldal (Arendal, Norway) raised his personal best and school record in the men's decathlon by 250 points at the Audrey Walton Combined Events last weekend, winning by leaping over the epic 8,000-point barrier to score 8,018. His mark, an automatic-NCAA qualifier, also is a IAAF World Championship `A' standard for the 2007 meeting in Osaka, Japan.
Only 19 people in the World scored 8,000 points in 2005 and Uldal is fourth on the World list in the 2006 season. Uldal also moved to second in the Big 12 and in the NCAA with the mark.
After day one, Uldal stood with 3,996 points. In day two, the temperatures reached 90 degrees for the second-consecutive day, but Uldal ran a solid 14.81 in the 110-meter hurdles, followed with a modest discus mark of 152-9 (46.56m).
The most accomplished of his 10 events in the Audrey Walton meet was the pole vault. Leaping over 16-2¾ (4.95m), he improved his personal best in the discipline by nearly six inches.
After two frustrating javelin throws, Uldal was able to top the 200-foot mark on his final to put himself in decent shape of topping 8,000 after his 1,500-meter run. Needing a 4:39.8, two seconds slower than his personal best, Uldal ran an opening 2:27 at 800 meters. Pulling down the homestretch, it looked close, but Uldal clocked a 4:36.84, a new personal best and three seconds faster than what was needed.
The Missouri Tigers travel this weekend to the Cardinal Invitational in Louisville, Ky. Uldal will likely not contest another decathlon until the Big 12 Championships in Waco, Texas, in mid-May.
Kansas State's Breanna Eveland won the award on the women's side after a fantastic weekend in Columbia.
Eveland broke her own national collegiate and school record in the final day of the Audrey Walton Combined Events with 7,064 points in the women's decathlon. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native won the pole vault with clearance of 14-1¼ and set a new Walton Stadium record, registered 1,108 points and tied her school record in the event. This was the second time in two years she has surpassed 1,000 points in the event at the Audrey Walton Combined Events.
Missouri's past winners of the Big 12's Athlete of the Week Award [since 2000]
April 18, 2006 - Hans Uldal
May 10, 2005 - Tipper O'Brien
February 10, 2003 - Amanda Bales
February 10, 2003 - Christian Cantwell
February 3, 2003 - Christian Cantwell
April 22, 2002 - Christian Cantwell
April 8, 2002 - Christian Cantwell
January 14, 2002 - Christian Cantwell
May 14, 2001 - Christian Cantwell