June 24, 2011
2011 USA Junior National Decathlon Results - Day One
2011 USA Senior National Hammer Throw Results
Eugene, Ore. -
Fordham University freshman Sam Houston sits in sixth place after the first day of competition in the decathlon at the 2011 USA Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships at the University of Oregon's Hayward Field. Fordham alum Matt DiBuono also had a good day for the Rams, placing third in the hammer throw at the 2011 U.S. Outdoor Track & Field National Championship, being held at the same venue. His top throw was a "B" qualifying throw for the World Championships.
Through the first five events, Houston compiled 4,236 points, the second best among all collegiate entrants. Gunnar Nixon (unattached) leads the competition with 5,117 points, followed by Arkansas' Kevin Lazas with 4,977. Kevin Nielsen from Revolution Express TC is third (4,608) with Alec Fellows (unattached) in fourth (4,564), Michael DiMambro (unattached) in fifth (4,315) and Houston sixth.
Houston's best event on day on was the shot put as he took third with a toss of 12.66m (41' 6.5"). He also placed fifth in the 400m in 50.67 and tied for fifth in the high jump with a leap of 1.93m (6' 4"). In the two other events, Houston placed eighth in the long jump (21' 1") and tenth in the 100m (11.65).
Houston qualified for the championships at the Atlantic 10 Championship in May. He finished third in the decathlon with a score of 6,448 points, breaking the Fordham school record of 6,171 points by Matt Spaccarelli in 2007. Houston finished first in four of the ten decathlon events, and was in the top three in seven of ten events. The qualifying standard for the Junior Championship in the decathlon is 6,200 points.
In the hammer throw competition, DiBuono, competing for Shore AC, placed third in the senior men's event with a best throw of 73.06m (239' 8"). Kibwé Johnson (Nike) won the hammer with a throw of 80.31m (263' 6") followed by Michael Mai (U.S. Army), who placed second with a throw of 74.69 (245' 0").
DiBuono's 73.06m throw was a "B" qualifying mark for the 2011 World Championships which will be held in Korea at the end of August. According to ArmoryTrack.com, in order to qualify either Mai or DiBuono will need to get the A standard of 78.00m (255' 11") before August 8th.
DiBuono qualified for the championships by recording a mark of 76.60m or 251' 4" in the hammer throw. He is the first former Fordham athlete to make the National Championship since Lauren Gubicza in the early 1990s.
DiBuono's qualifying mark was the second-best mark by any U.S. competitor this year, behind only Johnson's throw of 262' 9" (80.09m), which was set in Uberlándia, Brazil on May 18th. DiBuono's 251' 4" throw also ranked him 14th in the world at the time, based on the current listing on HammerThrow.eu.
DiBuono was a three-time Atlantic 10 champion in the hammer throw, a two-time Athlete of the Meet at the Metropolitan Championship, and the 2009 Vincent T. Lombardi Award winner as Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Houston will wrap up the decathlon on Friday and will be joined by freshman Anisa Arsenault, who will compete in the 5,000m.
