ASU heptathletes Keia Pinnick and Samantha Henderson may be young, but that didn’t stop them from showing off their talent at the Jim Click Combined Events meet in Tucson on Friday and Saturday.
Pinnick, a freshman, finished fourth overall in the women’s competition with 5,017 points. Competing in her first collegiate heptathlon, Pinnick moved into ASU’s all-time top 10 for the event, where she now sits in sixth-place.
Pinnick finished the competition strong, as she placed second in the 800-meter race, the final event of the heptathlon, with a time of 2:17.01. She also performed well in the 200-meter dash, where she finished third. Pinnick also placed fourth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.67 seconds.
Henderson, a sophomore transfer from Mesa Community College, finished fifth overall with 4,746 points, moving her into eighth all-time in Sun Devil history.
Henderson excelled in the shot put during the meet, where she finished second with a toss of 12.19 meters (40-00.00 feet). She also placed second in the long jump with a mark of 5.57 meters (18-03.25 feet).
On the men’s side, a trio of Sun Devils competed in the decathlon, with all three improving their positioning after the first day of competition.
Sophomore Jamie Sandys finished seventh overall with 6,357 points to lead all ASU men. Sandys, who was in 10th place when the second day of competition began on Friday, was well-rounded in all 10 events to improve his score. He completed the competition with a strong showing in the 1,500-meter race, finishing with a time of 4:46.27.
Freshmen Austin Prince and Jeremy Marcinko also performed well in their first collegiate decathlon competition. Prince finished eighth overall with 6,309 points, while Marcinko ended the two-day competition in 11th place with 6,151 points.
Both men improved their position from the first day, as Prince moved up one spot to eighth, and Marcinko jumped to 11th place after sitting in 13th when Day 2 of competition began. Both Prince and Marcinko excelled in the pole vault, finishing second and third, respectively.
Jake Arnold (AISICS) won the men’s decathlon with 7,832 points while Bettie Wade of Kansas (unattached) won the women’s heptathlon with a tally of 5,937 points.
The Sun Devils will host the 31st Sun Angel Track Classic next weekend. The meet will begin on Friday with the hammer throw, while all other field events and running events will take place on Saturday.
Reach the reporter at eric.l.smith@asu.edu
