Shultz Second At Azusa

Washington State’s Heidi Shultz scored a lifetime-best 5,239 points to take second place at the California Invitational Heptathlon on Friday at Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, Calif.

Shultz, a senior from White Salmon, Wash., improved on her NCAA provisional qualifying total of the minimum 5,075 points scored in her first heptathlon this season at Fresno State on March 24-25. Her 5,239 is second-best in WSU women’s track and field history; Connie Eckl tallied 5,718 in 1986.

Beth Reid of Purdue University won the two-day competition with 5,324 points. Twenty-four women began the heptathlon, but three did not complete all seven events.

Shultz was in third place after the first four events Thursday with 3,031 points.

Her Thursday efforts and places were: 100m hurdles, 15.00 (fourth); a personal-best high jump, 5-4-1/4 (fourth); shot put, 36-1-1/2 (seventh); 200m, 25.72 (third). On Friday Shultz’s efforts and places were: long jump, 17-11-3/4 (third); javelin, 129-7 (third); 800m, 2:17.70 (second).

The Cougars men’s and women’s track and field teams are in Eugene, Ore., for today’s Pepsi Invitational.

Fox Sports Northwest will show a tape-delayed 2-hour broadcast of the meet Sunday from 5-7 p.m.

Bartlett advances

Spokane’s Shelley Bartlett, a senior gymnast at the University of Nebraska, scored a 9.9 on the uneven bars Thursday night and qualified for tonight’s individual finals at the women’s NCAA national championships at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Bartlett tied for ninth in all-around with a score of 39.30.

Nebraska advanced to the team finals, where it finished sixth with 195.250 Friday night. UCLA won the team title with 197.150 points. Arizona State finished second with 196.850.

Eastern to scrimmage

Eastern Washington has a football scrimmage today at 11 a.m. at Woodward Stadium to end the first week of spring practice.

Bernsen gets UI job

Mark Bernsen has been hired by David Farrar as the top assistant for the University of Idaho men’s basketball program. Bernsen, 47, has Division I head coaching experience after three seasons (1992-95) at Southwest Missouri State University. Prior to that, Bernsen was an assistant there for three seasons.

, DataTimes