April 6, 2016

ATHENS, GA. – A pair of Gamecocks opened competition in combined events Wednesday as part of the Bulldog Heptathlon-Decathlon, hosted by Georgia. Sarah Graham had a solid day that put her in the top four overall, while Alexandre Asselin sits in position to try and hit a new personal best going into day two of the decathlon.

Graham was consistent and strong in her opening four events of the heptathlon. She began her day with a wind-aided personal best of 13.93 seconds in the 100m hurdles. That momentum carried into the high jump, where she matched her personal best with a clearance at 5 feet, 10 inches. She last reached that mark in May of 2014, and it stands as the fourth-best mark in school history.

The senior would not peak there, though, and reached another personal best in the shot put. Her best throw of 11.61 meters (38-1 ¼) put her fifth overall in the competition. Graham stands fourth overall in a talented field heading into the final three events on Thursday.

Asselin opened the decathlon just a few thousandths of a second off his PR in the 100m dash, but he would match his career high in the next event, the long jump. He hit 23 feet, 6 ¾ inches on his second attempt to take ninth, his best finish of the first day. He finished his first day in the 400, where his time of 50.68 was good for ninth. Going into Thursday’s final five events, Asselin ranks 14th out of the 17 remaining competitors.

The heptathlon and decathlon wrap up Thursday. The women start at noon in the long jump, with the men scheduled to begin at 1:30 in the 110m hurdles.