WSU Decathlete Sixth After First Day

Washington State freshman Leo Slack has 3,843 points and is sixth out of 17 competitors after the first day of the decathlon at the NCAA Track & Field Championships.

Slack, from Kennewick, had two personal-best marks during the first night’s events. He leaped 6-feet, 7 1/2 inches in the high jump, placing him second.

Slack also ran the 400 meters in 51.29 seconds, third in his heat and 11th overall.

In other events Wednesday, Slack ran an 11.38 and placed 13th in the 100, long jumped 22-9 3/4 for eighth place and heaved the shot put 43-7 1/4 for seventh.

This is Slack’s fourth decathlon of his career. He finished fourth at the Pacific-10 Championships earlier this month in Tucson with 7,407 points, which was the 12thbest mark going into the championships. His first-day total at the conference championships was 3,909.

Eric Anderson, a junior from Prosser, Wash., ran the 800 semifinals in 1:51.21, which was 19th out of 20. Anderson did not qualify for Friday’s final.

The third Cougar at the national meet, senior Christos Pallakis, is a favorite in the pole vault on Friday.

Meanwhile, Idaho sophomore Frank Bruder finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:53.20, qualifying him for Friday’s finals. He was fourth in his heat.

UI teammate Montrell Williams, a junior, had a time of 21.35 in the 200 but failed to qualify for Friday’s semifinals.