BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Isaac Pratt sits in seventh place to lead the Harding men's track and field team after the opening day of heptathlon competition at the Samford Invitational.
Competing against a field heavy with NCAA Division I talent, three Bisons completed the first four events of the seven-event grind: the 60-meter dash, long jump, shot put, and high jump.
Pratt Consistent Through Four Events
Pratt, a freshman, compiled 2,458 points on Thursday. He opened his day with his strongest scoring event, clocking a 7.26 seconds in the 60-meter dash to earn 792 points and sixth place in the event.
He followed that performance with a leap of 6.30 meters (20-08.00) in the long jump, the fourth-best mark of the day. He rounded out the afternoon with a shot put toss of 10.40 meters and a high jump clearance of 1.65 meters.
Heilmann Shines in Shot Put
Despite a tough break in the long jump where he recorded a foul and received zero points, Henry Heilmann produced one of the day's highlights in the throwing circle.
Heilmann launched the shot put 12.67 meters (41-07.00), the third-best throw of the entire competition, trailing only athletes from Auburn and Samford. He sits in 13th place overall with 1,893 points but showed elite ability in the throws. He also posted a solid 7.41 in the 60-meter dash.
Landers in Top 10
Emileano Landers put together a steady series of performances to finish the day in 10th place with 2,391 points. His most valuable event came in the 60-meter dash (7.44 seconds), and he added a consistent 1.74 meters (5-08.50) clearance in the high jump.
Meet Standings (Day 1)
Auburn's John Murray leads the competition with a score of 3,021 points.
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John Murray (Auburn) – 3,021 pts
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Samuel Warriner (South Alabama) – 2,898 pts
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Ben Thomason (Samford) – 2,861 pts ... 7. Isaac Pratt (Harding) – 2,458 pts 10. Emileano Landers (Harding) – 2,391 pts 13. Henry Heilmann (Harding) – 1,893 pts
Up Next
The heptathlon concludes Friday morning with the final three events: the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000-meter run. The rest of the Harding track and field team will also begin open competition Friday at 11:30 a.m.
