AMES, Iowa - It was a big meet for junior Neil Hines at the Iowa State Classic as he set three new personal-records, provisionally qualified and took second place in the heptathlon with total of 5,395 points. His performance currently ranks him ninth in the nation and second-best in Iowa State history.
"I was expecting to qualify for the NCAAs at this meet," said Hines. "I was very pleased with the way I performed on Thursday, but I was hoping to do a little better today (Friday)."
Two of Hines' personal-records came in the jumps as he leapt 22-4 in the long jump and 6-7 ½ in the high jump. He tossed the shot two feet past his old best by recording a mark of 45-7 ¾.
"I just go out there at compete at the highest level that I am capable of. I try to give a 100% at every meet," said Hines. "After competing this weekend at the ISU Classic, I now feel more prepared and am looking forward to having a big day at the Big 12 Indoor Championships."
On the track, Hines tied his personal record in the 60-meter dash (7.23), took fifth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.75) and clocked a 1,000-meter time of 2:53.23.
"Neil has really raised himself over the last two years," men's head coach Steve Lynn said. "Every week he gets better and that's what you want out of an athlete. I'm proud of him, he did great today and there is room to continue improving."
Kellen Burl and R.J. Sumrall both set personal records in the 60-meter hurdles and both will advance to the semi-finals of the event tomorrow. Burl crossed the line with a time of 8.11 and Sumrall clocked in at 8.13.
"It's a tremendous field in everything at this meet," Lynn said. "We have a lot professional athletes competing in the hurdles tomorrow so it will be good for Kellen and R.J. to run in that field. It's the type of competition they'll see at the Big 12 meet."
Senior Tamela Jadin set a personal-record in the pole vault with a leap of 11-8. The mark also broke her own school record of 11-5 ¾, which she set in 2004 at the Panther Classic.
"She came in today and used a bigger pole for the first time in competition," said jumps coach Ron McEachran. "I was pleased with the way she competed. She was aggressive down the runway and it paid off for her."
Out of 78 competitors in the preliminary race of the 60-meter hurdles, ISU's Rebecca Williams came in fourth with a time of 8.44. She will compete in the first heat of the semi-finals tomorrow at noon.
"We're working to iron things out technically and Rebecca did a great job of putting what she's learned into practice," said sprints and hurdles coach Scott Roberts. "She's right at the provisional qualifying mark and way out in the front of her heat. It will be a good race tomorrow."
A full day of competition begins on Saturday with the 3,000-meter run starting at 9:30 a.m. Field events start at 11 a.m. with the women's triple jump. The ISU Classic concludes with eight heats of the men's 4x400-meter relay scheduled for a 6:50 p.m. start. Results will be posted on www.cyclones.com throughout the day and at the end of the meet.
