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Ayden Owens Enjoys Memorable Collegiate Decathlon Debut, Georgia Ellenwood Defends Heptathlon Title at Bryan Clay Invitational

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DyeStat.com   Apr 19th 2019, 5:19pm
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Freshman eclipses USC all-time mark, Puerto Rico national record to outlast Stanford’s Williams; Ellenwood overcomes late deficit with strong 800 meters to rally past Gustafson

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Perhaps the best aspect of the men’s decathlon battle produced by USC freshman Ayden Owens and Stanford fifth-year senior Harrison Williams at the Bryan Clay Invitational was the potential for encore performances in June at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships.

RESULTS | PHOTOSINTERVIEWS

In one of the most memorable matchups in meet history, it came down to the final lap of the 1,500 meters to decide the overall winner, with Owens clocking 4 minutes, 28.90 seconds to accumulate a world-leading 8,130 points at Azusa Pacific University.

Owens not only smashed the 2003 Puerto Rico national record of 7,704 points held by Luiggy Llanos, he also eclipsed the 1984 USC program record of 8,022 points by Mike Gonzales. Owens, 18, also elevated to the No. 3 all-time World U-20 performer.

Williams, the reigning NCAA Division 1 Indoor heptathlon champion, ran 4:30.16 to achieve a personal-best 8,112 points, good for No. 2 in the world this year.

Wisconsin graduate Georgia Ellenwood, a first-year Under Armour professional and last year’s NCAA Division 1 heptathlon winner, repeated as Bryan Clay champion with 6,135 points to elevate to No. 3 in the world this year.

Although Ellenwood overcame a 51-point deficit entering the final event to produce a lifetime-best 2:12.22 in the 800 and rally past UCLA graduate Kendall Gustafson (2;19.94), who amassed a personal-best 6,078 points to ascend to No. 5 in the world this year, there was even more drama present with Owens and Williams in the final three events of the decathlon.

After trailing through the first seven events, Williams took his first lead by 17 points after clearing 16-8.75 (5.10m) in the pole vault, with Owens managing a 15-1 (4.60m) clearance.

Owens responded in the javelin with a 168-foot throw (51.21m) to regain the advantage by 10 points over Williams, who produced an effort of 162-1 (49.41m).

Williams led Owens through the first three laps of the 1,500, before the USC freshman surged in the final 400 meters to place third in the race, just ahead of the Stanford standout. It marked only the second time in NCAA Division 1 history that two decathletes both surpassed 8,100 points in a regular-season competition.

Timothy Ehrhardt of the Santa Barbara Track Club, a Michigan State graduate, placed third with a personal-best 8,066 points.

With the graduation of Ellenwood and Gustafson after both athletes placed in the top four at last year’s Division 1 outdoor final, UC Santa Barbara’s Hope Bender, North Dakota State’s Amanda Levin, Iowa’s Jenny Kimbro and UC Davis’ Erinn Beattie all positioned themselves to challenge for All-America honors in June.

Bender placed third with a personal-best 5,940 points, which ranks No. 3 among collegiate performers this season. Levin produced a program-record 5,695 to win her group, elevating to No. 5 in Division 1 this season, with Kimbro (5,679) and Beattie (5,671) ascending to sixth and seventh, respectively, after finishing in the identical places in the top group.

Beattie, second in the high jump at last year’s Division 1 outdoor championship, produced a personal-best 6-0.75 (1.85m) on Wednesday and followed it up with a lifetime-best 2:09.74 to lead all athletes Thursday in the 800.



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