Randolph Takes 3rd, Ayers-Stamper 4th at NCAA Track and Field Championships
May 28, 2004

WALNUT, Calif. (May 28) ­ Chris Randolph matched the highest national finish by a Seattle Pacific University track & field athlete in 11 years by taking third place in the decathlon at the NCAA Division II Championships Friday at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.

Chris Randolph and Danielle Ayers-Stamper earned All-American honors at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

The SPU women picked-up five points with the fourth-place finish by Danielle Ayers-Stamper (So., LaCrosse, Wa.) in the heptathlon. Ayers-Stamper and Randolph both earned All-America status.

Allie Hedges (So., Richland, Wa.) placed a non-scoring 10th in the pole vault and Jennifer Marsh (Fr., Kirkland, Wa./Juanita) did not advance to Saturday's 800-meter final.

Randolph (So., Lone Tree, Co./Denver Christian) finished with 7030 points, the No. 4 score in school history. Along the way he established four personal records, including a second-day time of 15.58 seconds in the 110-meter high hurdles. When he took second in the discus (132-3) and cleared 13 feet, 5 1/4 inches in the pole vault, Randolph virtually clinched the bronze.

Nate Schmidt of Division I-bound North Dakota State was the runaway winner with a score of 7460. His teammate, Andrew Aakre, was second with 7196. Randolph, who missed six weeks with an ankle sprain, raised his career-best score by 149.

Ayers-Stamper, despite a score 100 points higher than her previous meet, was unable to close ground on the leaders over the final three events. Each of the top three finishers improved greatly over their qualifying scores, with Brianna Edwards of South Dakota taking first with 5301 points.

Last year's NCAA runner-up, Ayers-Stamper originally opted to redshirt this spring to rehabilitate a back injury. Earlier this month she sprang into action, but aside from her personal record in the 100 hurdles and a solid high jump on the first day, none of her marks approached those of a year ago. She long-jumped 17-8 1/2, threw the javelin 111-10 and ran the 800 in 2:26.58.

Of the first seven finishers in the heptathlon, only Ayers-Stamper and second-place Alissa Miller of Angelo State (5245) and native of Richland, Wa., were not seniors.

Hedges was among eight vaulters eliminated at 12-1 1/2. She lost a tiebreaker for eighth place by virtue of a miss on her first attempt at 11-7 3/4, a height she cleared on her next turn. Hedges had gone 12-2 3/4 in her last outing May 15. Cal State Stanislaus' Chaunte Mitchell won at 12-9 1/2.

Despite a PR time of 2:12.41, Marsh missed the cutoff for the final place in the 800 final by 0.22 seconds. She was one of just three freshmen qualifiers.

The meet concludes Saturday. The Falcons' Sara Johnson (Jr., Kennewick, Wa.) will throw the javelin.