PALO ALTO, Calif. – UCLA senior Kendall Gustafson finds herself in second place in the women's heptathlon, just five points off the lead, with a score of 3,563 after the first day of competition at the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships, hosted by Stanford.
Of the four events held on Saturday, Gustafson won two – the high jump and the shot put – and placed top-six in the other two. The senior also set a trio of personal records on the day. Washington State's Alissa Brooks-Johnson leads all competitors with a score of 3,568.
Redshirt sophomore Christina Chenault, competing in her first heptathlon of the outdoor season, picked up two top-five finishes and three top-10 finishes en route to eighth place in the day one standings.
Saturday's competition started with the 100-meter hurdles, an event in which Gustafson finished third with a time of 14.08, setting a new collegiate-best. Chenault came in 13th in the hurdles at 15.35, her first time competing in that event since May 13, 2017.
Gustafson captured her first win of the day in the next event, taking the high jump with a top mark of 1.80m (5-10.75), another new collegiate-best. Chenault tied for fifth place with a result of 1.65m (5-5).
Next up was the shot put, with Gustafson and Chenault finishing 1-4. Gustafson was one of just two competitors to surpass the 40-foot mark, taking first with a throw of 13.08m (42-11). Cheanult meanwhile came in fourth with a mark of 11.43m (37-6), her second-best throw of the 2018 outdoor season.
Both Bruins finished top-10 in the final event of the day, the 200-meter dash. Gustafson came in sixth with a time of 25.02, another new PR, while Chenault was 10th at 25.95.
UCLA's duo of heptathletes finishes up competition at the Pac-12 Multis tomorrow. The full Pac-12 Championships will take place next weekend, May 12-13, at Stanford.