Wisconsin Badgers
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Akinniyi opens NCAA heptathlon with familiar fast start
June 09, 2011 | Women's Track & Field
June 9, 2011
• Day 2 Results | Photo Gallery 
DES MOINES, Iowa -- There's something about Drake Stadium that lends itself to fast starts for Dorcas Akinniyi.
Now it's just a matter of carrying that momentum to the finish for Akinniyi, who positioned herself remarkably well on the opening day of the heptathlon at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The sophomore posted the best first-day score of her career, a total of 3,469 points that has her in third place after Thursday's four events. Akinniyi trails leader Ryann Krais of Kansas State by just 116 points with three events left to be contested Friday.
Teammate Jessica Flax opened strong, as well, in her NCAA championships debut. The junior posted a four-event total of 3,258 points to stand 11th midway through the competition. She is just 58 points out of eighth place -- and first-team All-America range.
Akinniyi's performance eclipsed the previous lifetime-best opening day of 3,410 points she posted on the way to a ninth-place finish less than a year ago, at the 2010 USA Track and Field Championships on the same Drake Stadium oval.
It also puts her in position for a fourth All-America honor in as many NCAA championships appearances. She finished fifth outdoors last year and was fourth in the indoor pentathlon this season.
Akinniyi actually matched her USA championships performance from last year through two events Thursday. She posted marks of 13.98 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and 5 feet, 10 inches in the high jump -- both identical to her performances in her last appearance at Drake Stadium.
That showing in the high jump matched Akinniyi's personal-best mark in the event and tied her for the top performance in the field.
The difference-maker this time around came in the shot put, with Akinniyi throwing an outdoor personal-best 41 feet, 3 1/4 inches. She then closed with a slightly-slower showing in the 200 meters compared to her USA championships performance, at 25.57.
Combined, the performances put the Badgers' school record of 5,637 points -- set by Melissa Talbot in 2007 -- squarely in Akinniyi's sights. If she were to match her personal-best marks in each of the three events on Friday's schedule, she is on pace to score a personal-best 5,754 points.
Flax, meanwhile, opened the day with a wind-aided run of 14.12 in the 100-meter hurdles and followed by clearing 5-5 3/4 in the high jump, which was moved indoors to the adjacent Drake Field House because of wet conditions.
The reigning Big Ten champion closed the day with a throw of 39-5 in the shot put and then clocked in at 25.64 in the 200 meters.
Jakutyte skies to All-America honors
Monika Jakutyte didn't have to venture into uncharted territory to secure another second-team All-America award, though she nearly reached new heights in pursuit of her latest honor.
The junior matched her lifetime best by clearing 5 feet, 10 3/4 inches in the high jump Thursday, securing a tie for 11th place in her first NCAA outdoor competition.
The showing followed Jakutyte's berth in the NCAA indoor championships, which ended with a 14th-place finish and a second-team All-America nod. That performance was on the heels of her Big Ten title in the event.
She was one of just 13 in the field to clear the bar at 5-10 3/4, getting over on her second attempt to match her outdoor personal best. That came on the heels of a first-attempt clearance at 5-9 1/4. It took two attempts for her to clear the opening height of 5-7 3/4.
Arizona's Brigetta Barrett won the competition by clearing all five bars up to 6-1 1/4 without a single miss.
The NCAA championships continue Friday, with Akinniyi and Flax resuming the heptathlon at 4 p.m. and freshman Emily Sisson racing in the final of the 5,000 meters at 8:10 p.m. CBS Sports Network will air the meet live from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
