Kennedy Finishes 18th at NCAA Championships in Decathlon

By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director, (503) 370-6110

LA CROSSE, WIS. -- Carson Kennedy (So., Forest Grove, OR/Forest Grove HS) from Willamette University finished in 18th place in the decathlon as the second day of the 2013 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships concluded on Friday, May 24 at Roger Harring Stadium.

The final five events in the decathlon were contested on Friday, with athletes participating in the 110-meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw and 1,500-meter run.

Kennedy took eighth place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.85 seconds. He threw the discus 105' 6" and cleared 11' 7.75" in the pole vault. In addition, he tossed the javelin 141' 5" and registered a time of 4:54.97 in the 1,500-meter run. He finished the 10 events with 5,488 points.

During the competition, Kennedy scored over 700 points in three events. He earned 776 points in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.39 seconds, added 750 points in the 110-meter hurdles and achieved 744 points in the 400-meter dash at 51.57 seconds.

Eric Larson from Central College (Iowa) won the decathlon championship with 6,969 points. His top event score was 854 points in the 110-meter hurdles, as he earned a time of 14.96 seconds. Brandon Zarnoth from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire took second place with 6,860 points and Bart Mestelle, also from UW-Eau Claire, was third with 6,714 points.

Matt Hunter of Ohio Wesleyan University attained the top event score of the of the decathlon on Thursday, when he received 897 points after running the 100-meter dash in 10.84 seconds.

Kennedy was the only Willamette athlete to compete on Friday. Michaela Freeby (So., Milwaukie, OR/Rex Putnam HS) will run for the Bearcats in the finals of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase on Saturday, May 25 at 1:45 p.m. CDT/11:45 a.m. PDT.