Feb. 27, 2004
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Chelsea Hammond finished second in the women’s pentathlon and two USC men are among the top seven in the men’s heptathlon competition after day one of the SEC Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Hammond totaled 4,133 points in her runner-up finish, less than 100 points behind the SEC Champion, Hyleas Fountain of Georgia, and collected eight team-scoring points for the Gamecocks. Freshman teammate Reanna Townsend finished 14th.
Consistency was a key for Hammond who finished among the top-four in four of the five events, including second-place finishes in the high jump (5’10”) and long jump (19’9.5″). She also placed third in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.63 and fourth in the shot put. Townsend’s best event was the high jump where she cleared 5’4.25″ for sixth.
Fred Townsend, the reigning SEC Athlete of the Week and older brother of Reanna, sits in fourth-place with 3,006 points while teammate Greg Royster occupies the seventh position with 2,827 points.
Townsend, who is just 292 points off the pace set by Auburn’s Maurice Greene, won the first and last events of the day, running a time of 7.04 in the 60m dash and clearing 6’10.25″ in the high jump for wins. He also finished second in the long jump (23’8″).
Royster’s best event of the evening was a fourth-place finish in the high jump with a mark of 6’6.75″.
The men’s heptathlon concludes with its final three events tomorrow. Field and running event preliminaries also begin Saturday with most event finals slated for Sunday in Lexington. For updated results and schedules visit www.ukathletics.com. The SEC Indoor Championships results page is also linked through www.USCsports.com.
