Gustavus junior Jered Hokenson (Watertown, Minn.) sits second in the men’s decathlon, while senior Blythe Bittman (Fairmont, Minn.) is third in the women’s heptathlon following day one of Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Multi-Event Championships Thursday at Carleton’s Laird Stadium in Northfield. Hokenson has 3087 total points through five of ten events, while Bittman has 2426 total points through four of seven events. The Multi-Event Championships conclude Friday.
In the decathlon, Hokenson trails only Saint John’s junior Matt Mogenson, who placed in the top five of all five events Thursday and accumulated 3268 total points. Hokenson picked up 776 points with his winning effort of 6 feet, 5 1/2 inches in the high jump, while also finishing fifth in the 400-meter dash (:54.09; 636 points) and long jump (19′ 2 3/4″, 556 points), sixth in the 100-meter dash (:12.07, 637 points) and seventh in the shot put (32′ 7 1/2″, 482 points). The competition will conclude Friday with the pole vault, discus throw, 110-meter hurdles, 1500-meter run and javelin throw.
In the heptathlon, Bittman trails Hamline’s Dana Luiken (2565 total points) and Carleton’s Kestrel Schwaiger (2467 total points). Luiken posted the event’s best marks in the 100-meter hurdles (:15.94), high jump (5′ 2 1/2″), and shot put (32′ 1 1/2″). Bittman captured the 200-meter dash with a MIAC Heptathlon-record time of 26.43 seconds, earning 760 points in the process. She also posted the second-best mark in the shot put (31′ 9 1/4″, 509 points) and finished sixth in both the high jump (4′ 9 3/4″, 588 points) and 100-meter hurdles (:17.25, 569 points). The long jump, javelin throw and 800-meter run will round out competition Friday.