Koford Fifth After First Day Of Boxer Combined Event
Day 1 Results
FOREST GROVE – A strong first day for
Aaron Koford (Jr., Wilsonville, Ore.), which included a trio of season bests, allowed the junior to finish the first day of the decathlon in fifth place to lead a field of three Pacific athletes competing in the Boxer Combined Event at Lincoln Park Stadium.
Koford compiled a total of 3,114 points and sits well within striking distance of the leader, Dillon Hoecker of Clackamas Community College. Ted Wogan (So., Klamath Falls, Ore.) is in sixth place with 2,724 points. David Kelley (Fr., Warrenton, Ore.), competing in his first career multi-event competition, is ninth with 2.184 points.
Koford set his pace with a trio of third place finishes in his first three events. He opened the day with a season best time of 11.63 seconds in the 100 meters and also had a season best in the long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 5 inches. In the third event of the day, the shot put, Koford posted a season best by two feet with his mark of 37 feet, 7.25 inches.
The junior continued his day with a fourth place finish in the high jump, tying with Thomas Lott of Clackamas CC at 5 feet, 3.75 inches. He ended the afternoon with another third place finish in the 400 meters with a time of 52.56 seconds.
Wogan's day was topped by a fifth place finish in the 100 meters, running 11.81 seconds, and a fifth place finish in the 400 meters in 52.60 seconds. Kelley found his best success in the long jump, placing seventh with a season best of 17 feet, 9 inches.
Hoecker tied with Koford in the 100 meters to opener the day, but solidified his lead with a second place finish in the long jump (20-5.25) and the high jump (6-2.25), two of the higher scoring events on the first day. Ezekiel Smith of George Fox stands second at 3,269 points while Seth Buck of Clackamas CC is in third with 3,262 points.
In the heptathlon, George Fox's Beth Stam earned top-two places in three of the four opening day events to take the lead with 2,892 points. After placing fourth in the first event, with 100-meter hurdles, Stam came back to place second in the high jump (5-4.50), win the shot put (39-8) and place second in the 400 meters (26.73).
Stam led a top-three sweep for the Bruins in the first day standings. Maria Green sits in second place with 2,753 points and Charity Arn is third with 2,614 points. Pacific did not have any competitors in the heptathlon.
The second day of the Boxer Combined Event takes place on Friday. The decathlon will begin with the 110-meter hurdles at 10 a.m., while the heptathlon will start at 11 a.m. with the long jump.
