AUSTIN – A strong opening day in the heptathlon finds the Texas A&M duo of Jena Hemann and Annie Kunz in second and fourth place, respectively, at the Texas Relays with scores of 3,510 and 3,393 points.
Alex Gochenour of Arkansas leads the multi-event competition with 3,757 points while Oklahoma’s Payton Stumbaugh is third at 3,416. The heptathlon continues at Myers Stadium on Thursday at 11 a.m. with the long jump, followed by the javelin and 800 meters.
Hemann’s score is her best first day tally ever, topping the 3,344 she produced in the 2013 Texas Relays when she went on to set a career best score of 5,531 points in placing fourth. Kunz put together her second best first day score, trailing a 3,471 she had in the 2013 Texas Relays.
“I just feel like I’m in a pretty solid position right now,” said Hemann. “I was a little nervous coming into today since we had a break this past week following the indoor nationals. Javelin will be a key event tomorrow in terms of keeping my placement. If I can get a solid mark in the long jump tomorrow I think that will be a key as well.”
Kunz noted: “I’m still getting the rust off from taking off so long with soccer. After taking that year off it’s hard to come back, but I’m finally getting that feeling back with my movements in various events. I felt good today and I know I have a lot more in me. This is a good first step this early in the outdoor season.”
Starting off with the 100 hurdles, Hemann ran 14.27 with a 3.9 aiding wind for 941 points. Her previous best hurdle time in a heptathlon was 14.28 from the 2013 NCAA Championships. Then a high jump clearance of 5-8 ¾ (1.75) netted Hemann 916 points and improved her previous best in a heptathlon of 5-7 ¾ (1.72) from the 2012 Big 12 meet.
Another big point producer for Hemann was the shot put where she had the best mark among the field of 18 entrants with a toss of 44 feet, 11 inches (13.69) for 773 points. Her previous best of 44-1 ½ (13.45) occurred in the 2013 NCAA heptathlon.
Closing out the first day with the 200 meters, Hemann clocked 25.07 (2.5 wind) for 880 points. That time was her third best effort in a multi, trailing only a 24.83 and 25.01 from 2013 at the NCAA and SEC Championships.
The opening event also showed solid signs for a good day from Kunz as she posted a 14.16 (2.0 wind) in the 100 hurdles for 956 points. She then cleared 5-6 ½ (1.69) in the high jump for 842 points.
In the shot put a career best of 42-10 ¾ (13.07) picked up 732 points. The previous best for Kunz was 41-7 (12.67) from the 2013 NCAA Championships. Running in the same heat of the 200m as Hemann, Kunz posted a time of 25.26 for 863 points.
“Day one is the day where I need to take care of business since I can get a lot of points in those events,” said Kunz. “The shot put really helped move me to the top a little more. So, that was nice to get a good throw in.”
Gochenhour led the Texas Relays heptathlon from the first event as she ran 13.15 (1,102 points) in the hurdles with a 2.0 wind. She cleared 5-10 (953) in the high jump, had a 42-8 ¾ (729) shot put and ran 24.08 (4.3 wind) in the 200 to build a 247-point lead over Hemann.
Arkansas also has Leigha Brown (3,386) and Taliyah Brooks (3,359) in the heptathlon as they finished the first day in sixth and seventh place.
“It’s nice having the competition from Arkansas here since they were also in the national meet a couple of weeks ago and we are able to compete with that caliber of athlete again,” stated Hemann.
88th Texas Relays – Austin, Texas
Heptathlon – day one scores
1. Alex Gochenour, Arkansas 3,757
2. Jena Hemann, Texas A&M 3,510
3. Payton Stumbaugh, Oklahoma 3,416
4. Annie Kunz, Texas A&M 3,393
5. Jallycia Pearson, UTEP 3,390
6. Leigha Brown, Arkansas 3,386
7. Taliyah Brooks, Arkansas 3,359
8. Carly Loeffel, Notre Dame 3,327
9. Sierra Patrick, unattached 3,305
10. Abrianna Torres, Colorado 3,216
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics