June 11, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa - Sophomore Aaron Harlan scored 2,832 points in the opening day of competition in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Wednesday afternoon. He is currently 24th overall heading into Thursday's final round. Despite the heavy rainfall in the Des Moines area, which delayed the event at Drake Stadium, the athletes were able to resume competition and wrap up the first day later in the afternoon.

Harlan recorded his best performance of the day with a time of 11.20 in the 100-meter dash to finish seventh overall. After a strong performance in the shot put, Harlan entered the high jump competition in 19th place, but dropped to 24th after recording a no height in the event. Harlan rallied to close out the day with a time of 52.86 in the 400-meter dash.

The decathletes will return to action Monday at 10:45 a.m. with the running of the 110-meter hurdles. An NCAA regional qualifier in the event, the 110-meter hurdles is one of the stronger event areas for Harlan. The decathlon will close with the discus throw, pole vault, javelin and the 1,500-meter run.

-SFA-