KEVIN JENISON
GoSycamores.com
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Junior Robert Webb won the long jump and tied for first in the high jump on the first day of the decathlon competition of the Neil Moore Multis Thursday and will enter the final day in second place. The Neil Moore Multis are part of the Eastern Illinois Big Blue Classic which officially begins Friday and concludes on Saturday.
Sophomre Kelly Steffen stands in fifth place after the first day of the Heptathlon with senior Patricia Merrion in eighth. Both the decathlon and the heptathlon will conclude Friday morning before the start of the regular competition.
Webb tied his personal best with a leap of 22-feet-7-inches (6.88 meters) in winning the long jump competition of the decathlon. He was one of three individuals to clear 6-feet-6-inches (1.98 meters) and tie for first in the high jump.
The junior also finished second in the 100 meters with a time of 11.34 which is just a hundredth of a second off his personal best set last year. Webb did establish a personal best in the 400 meters as he was a close second with a time of 50.93 seconds.
The fifth event of the day's competition was the shot put where Webb threw a personal best distance of 34-feet-2¼-inches in placing seventh.
Friday's competition will include the 110 meter hurdles, discus throw, pole vault, javelin throw, and 1500 meter run. Competition will begin at 11 a.m. (ET).
Illinois freshman Corey Hammon leads the field into day two of the decathlon with 3,765 points with Webb scoring 3,639 points to stand in second place. Wisconsin-Milwaukee senior is in third with 3,473 points with Illinois sophomore Steve Monte fourth with 3,421 points.
Steffen's best finish on the first day of the heptathlon came in the high jump where the sophomore cleared a personal best height of 5-feet-3¾-inches (1.62 meters) in placing second. She was seventh in the shot put with a throw of 29-feet-7½-inch (9.03 meters), seventh in the 100 meter hurdles in 15.52 and seventh in the 200 meters despite running a personal best 26.95.
Merrion was eighth in the high jump by clearing 4-feet-7½-inches (1.41 meters), eighth in the shot put with a personal best distance of 29-feet-2¼-inches (8.91 meters), ninth in the 100 meter hurdles in 18.88, and ninth in the 200 meters in 27.49.
The final three events of the heptathlon will be contested on Friday which includes the long jump, javelin throw, and 800 meter run. Competition begins at 12 p.m. (ET).
Illinois junior Marissa Golliday will lead the field into the final day of the heptathlon with 3,143 points. Illinosi junior Kewanna Brooks stands second with 3,063 points with Kelly Washington (competing unattached) third with 3,037 points and Illinois junior Kristin Morris fourth with 2,843 points.
Steffen stands fifth with 2,715 points while Merrion is ninth with 2,055 points.
The Big Blue Classic will begin at 3 p.m. (ET) with the women's hammer throw followed by the men's hammer throw. That will be the only field event contested Friday with the rest of the field events being held on Saturday starting at 11:00 a.m. (ET).
Track events begin at 7 p.m. (ET) Friday with the preliminaries of the women's and men's 400 meter hurdles. That will be followed by the 4x800 meter relay, 5,000 meter run, 4x400 meter hurdle relay, and the 10,000 meter run. Saturday's track action begins at 12:30 p.m. (ET) with the men's 110 meter hurdle preliminaries.
