May 8, 2004
TEMPE, Ariz. - The 2004 Pac-10 Multi-Event Championships came to a close Saturday evening at Roy P. Drachman Stadium in Tucson, Ariz., with a pair of Arizona State freshmen earning a spot on the podium, including a conference crown for Jacquelyn Johnson in the heptathlon. Joshua Kinnaman, the first day leader in the decathlon, finished as the runner-up in the event.
Johnson (Yuma, Ariz.), who also was the day one leader on the women's side, secured 5,603 points to win her first conference title, as well as the first heptathlon crown in school history, as she outdistanced the conference runner-up, Brooke Meredith of California, by 127 points. Johnson opened the day with a second place showing in the long jump with a mark of 5.74m (18-10.00) in windy conditions to earn 771 points. Still holding the overall lead, Johnson next tied for third in the javelin with a heave of 36.42m (119-06) to grab another 5.99 points. In the final race, the title came down to Johnson being able to hold of Meredith as the Sun Devil took second in the 800m run at 2:20.88 for 812 points. Meredith finished with 811 points and just behind Johnson in the race at 2:20.94.
On the men's side, Kinnaman (Chandler, Ariz.) came in with the lead and held onto it until the pole vault. The day opened with Kinnaman taking eighth in the 110m high hurdles at 15.84 for 751 points. Kinnaman expanded his lead in the discus as he captured 715 points with a third-place throw of 42.46m (139-04). The lead slipped away in the pole vault as Oregon's Tommy Skipper cleared 5.30m to earn 1,004 points while Kinnaman placed fifth with a height of 4.50m (14-09.00) to collect 760 points. Trailing by 156 points, Kinnaman tried to keep the pressure on as he placed second in the javelin with a toss of 56.65m (185-10) for 688 points. But Skipper took first in the javelin with 770 points to extend his advantage to 238 points. Needing a big performance in the 1,500m run, Kinnaman placed seventh at 4:57.42 for 575 points while Skipper came in ninth at 5:21.46, but it was too little of a margin of points as Kinnaman finished 105 behind Skipper in the standings.
Individually, Johnson surpassed the 5,500 points needed to automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships (June 9-12) in Austin, Texas, and will look to improve upon the national runner-up finish she posted in the indoor pentathlon in March. Her 5,603 points rank her third in the nation and No. 2 all-time at Arizona State. For Kinnaman, his 7,484 points put him 16 points shy of automatically qualifying for the NCAA meet, though he does rank seventh in the nation. His mark also is the sixth-best in school history.
In the conference team race, the Sun Devil women are in first place with 10 points while California sits second with eight. Oregon (six), Washington (five) and UCLA (five) round out the Top 5. On the men's side, Kinnaman's eight team points earned put the men in second place while Oregon has taken a large lead at 25 points as four individuals scored in the decathlon. California (three), UCLA (two) and Washington State (one) round out the remaining teams that scored points this weekend.
The entire Sun Devil team returns to action in Tucson next weekend as the 2004 Pac-10 Track and Field Championships will be contested May 14-15.