AZUSA, Calif. - The nation's largest combined events competition gets underway April 10 at Azusa Pacific University with the Bryan Clay Invitational.
Sixty-two women will contest the heptathlon, while 50 men compete in the decathlon competition. Action begins Thursday at 9 a.m. at Cougar Stadium on the Azusa Pacific campus.
In the women's multi, Canadian Nicole Oostertag and French star Esther Conde-Turpin highlight an outstanding field. Oostertag, who has been training in Southern California for the last month, is an excellent hurdler/jumper while Conde-Turpin, the NCAA D2 record holder in the indoor pentathlon (4,447 points in winning last month at the NCAA D2 Indoor Track & Field Championships), competes for the host Cougars.
Collegiate stars Annika Williams (Oregon), Destiny Masters (Wichita State), Jalen Elrod (Purdue) and Blakelee Winn (Pittsburg State) add depth to a field that should see multiple qualifiers to the national meet.
On the men's side, 2020 Olympic champion Damian Warner highlights a very deep field. The Canadian superstar is one of only four men in history to break the 9,000 barrier (9,018).
Hunter Jones of Pittsburg State, the reigning NCAA D2 champion both indoors and out for the Gorillas, highlights a stellar collegiate field. Jones was a member of Team USA last summer in Marburg, Germany as the Americans defeated the Germans in the Thorpe Cup.
– Matt Farmer
