Wisconsin Badgers
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
Sweet sweep: Akinniyi takes Big Ten heptathlon title
May 15, 2010 | Women's Track & Field
May 15, 2010
Results | Results 
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- All she could do was shrug. And smile.
A win was likely already in hand, but Dorcas Akinniyi's explosive personal-best throw in the javelin propelled her to an outstanding score of 5,584 points and a Big Ten Conference title in the heptathlon.
The victory completed a season sweep of the Big Ten's multi-event titles for Akinniyi, who also claimed the indoor pentathlon title at the conference indoor meet in March. Her performance also has the Badgers holding down the No. 2 spot in the team standings after seven events, with 52 points. Minnesota's 56 points lead the standings.
The redshirt freshman blasted her previous lifetime-best mark in the javelin with a a throw of 125 feet, 7 inches that was the class of the field by nearly six feet. Prior to the throw, her career-best mark stood at 100 feet, 11 inches.
After the heave, Akinniyi walked over to assistant coach Dave Astrauskas, who coaches the Badgers' throwers, and shrugged. It was that kind of weekend for Akinniyi.
"Honestly, I don't know where that came from," Akinniyi said. "Thank goodness for Dave and his coaching, he's done a wonderful job with me."
Her point total fell just 53 points short of Melissa Talbot's school-record score of 5,637 and stands No. 2 all-time at Wisconsin. The performance also ranks Akinniyi No. 5 on the national performance list this season and assures her of a trip to next month's NCAA outdoor championships.
"That's a load off my shoulders," Akinniyi said. "I really want to go in there and do even better."
Her effort led the charge for a strong Badgers showing in the event, as sophomore Jessica Flax grabbed third place with a lifetime-best score of 5,253 -- which stands No. 4 all-time at UW -- and senior Jenny Soceka racked up 4,998 points to finish fourth in the field.
Akinniyi opened the second day of the heptathlon competition with a six-inch personal-best in the long jump -- despite jumping into a headwind -- and posted the top mark in the field at 19 feet, 2 1/2 inches. She then wrapped things up with a career-best run of 2:22.64 in the 800 meters.
In all, Akinniyi posted personal-best marks in six of the seven events that comprise the heptathlon.
"I was really happy with the way everything went," she said. "I just need to keep working to improve at nationals and, hopefully, the USA championships."
The Badgers also were boosted by a strong showing in the javelin, with Megan Rennhack (121 feet, 10 inches) grabbing fourth place, Flax (121-5) claiming sixth and Sunni Massop (115-2) taking eighth. Senior Carly Ducharme (108-0) gave the Badgers four of the nine finalists in the event and fell just short of scoring with a ninth-place finish.
Freshmen Taylor Smith and Jasmine Boyer also performed well in the shot put, with Smith heaving a personal-best 49-5 1/2 to take fourth and Boyer posting a mark of 48-7 1/4 for sixth.
Senior Chavon Robinson, who was second in the event last year, took third in the long jump with a leap of 19-11 3/4, while Akinniyi leapt 19-4 to take sixth place.
