University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Herauf 13th after NCAA Heptathlon Day One
6/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
EUGENE, Ore. -- The Golden Gopher women's track & field team began competition at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships with Jess Herauf scoring 3,442 points to be in 13th place after four events of the heptathlon.
Herauf started the day by running a career-best 14.30 in the 100-meter hurdles to move into 10th among all-time Gopher hurdlers. She followed up with a ninth-place finish in the high jump, clearing 1.72m (5-07.75) for her second-best mark of the season.
Shot put saw Herauf again record her second-best mark of the season as she placed fifth at 13.25m (43-5.07.75). She clocked a 25.04 in the 200m to round out the first day of competition with 3,442 points -- three points ahead of her day one score at the Big Ten Championship (3,439).
"Today went pretty well for Jess," director of women's track & field and cross country Matt Bingle said. "She's in a good spot. She's right there, ahead of where she was after day one at the Big Ten meet. If she can come out with a big performance in the javelin, she'll be set because javelin will separate a lot of people."
Herauf is making her outdoor NCAA debut after earning All-American finishes in the pentathlon each of the last two seasons. The 2015 Big Ten heptathlon champion already owns the Minnesota program record in the heptathlon at 6,014 points.
The heptathlon concludes Thursday with long jump (2 p.m. CT), javelin (3:15 p.m. CT), and the 800-meter run (5:28 p.m. CT).
"We've had a pretty charmed year with Jess," Bingle said. "We're getting a bit greedy. She knows what she has to do, so we're excited for tomorrow. We just have to get some rest and be ready to go. Tomorrow will be a busy day."
Along with Herauf, the rest of the Gopher qualifiers will also compete at the NCAA Championships on Thursday as Devin Stanford competes in the hammer throw, Nicolle Murphy makes her NCAA debut in the javelin, and the 4x400-meter relay team of Jessica Waldvogel, Emerald Egwim, Erin Hawkins, and Titania Markland races in the semifinals Thursday evening.
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