McMorris wins men’s 100, 400 and long jump to establish big lead in decathlon, with Rogers, Jones and Nesbitt all separated by fewer than 25 points for U.S. in women’s heptathlon, as both lineups are positioned well to sweep host Germans again

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Photos courtesy of Thorpe Cup

The pursuit of back-to-back women’s heptathlon victories for Michelle Atherley was derailed following three events Saturday at the Thorpe Cup at Wetzlar Stadium, but the United States still remained in strong position to complete its quest for back-to-back victories against the host Germans.

Jenelle Rogers, Allie Jones and Cheyenne Nesbitt all surpassed 3,600 points for the Americans on the opening day of heptathlon competition, as the U.S. led by a margin of 10,944 to 10,600 points following four events.

Hakim McMorris, Sam Black and Denim Rogers also occupied the top three spots at the midway point of the decathlon for the American men’s lineup, which held a 20,754 to 20,064 advantage against Germany.

McMorris accumulated 4,503 points following the first five events, with Black amassing 4,202 points and Denim Rogers earning 4,183 points. McMorris eclipsed the previous best opening-day performance in meet history of 4,472 points established in 2009 by fellow American athlete Tom Pappas.

Yannik Knobloch was the top German competitor entering the second day of competition at 4,165 points.

Jenelle Rogers achieved 3,664 points to hold a narrow advantage against Jones and Nesbitt, who both produced 3,640 points.

Serina Riedel is the top heptathlete for Germany at 3,580 points with three events remaining.

Atherley, who won the heptathlon title with 6,079 points for the U.S. last year in Marburg, started Saturday with a victory in the 100-meter hurdles in 13.07 seconds. But she struggled in both the high jump and shot put, and didn’t compete in the 200 to conclude the opening-day schedule.

Nesbitt and Timara Chapman were the top Americans in the high jump with a 5-8.50 (1.74m) clearance, matching the German trio of Sandrina Sprengel, Lucie Kienast and Jenna Fee Feyerabend.

Jenelle Rogers won the shot put with an opening-round mark of 51-0.75 (15.56m), achieving a Thorpe Cup record, and Jones also produced a meet all-time mark by clocking a wind-legal 23.51 seconds to prevail in the 200.

McMorris won the men’s 100-meter dash in a wind-legal 10.59 seconds, in addition to clocking 46.50 to triumph in the 400 meters, and also secured victory in the long jump with a wind-legal 25-6.25 (7.78m) effort on his third attempt.

Hunter Jones emerged victorious for the Americans in the men’s high jump with a 6-8 (2.03m) clearance and Black won the shot put with a second-round performance of 50-9.25 (15.47m).

The Americans are looking to sweep both team competitions in Germany for the second year in a row after never previously achieving the feat in event history. The U.S. leads the Thorpe Cup men’s series by a 15-13 margin, with the American women looking to add to a 12-4 all-time advantage.