Montana
NCAA Championships
Emry off to a good start at indoor nationals
3/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Indoor Track, Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
March 8, 2013
Pre-championships Video
Montana junior Austin Emry is sitting in seventh place after the opening four events of the heptathlon at the NCAA indoor track and field championships. Emry ranked 14th in the multi-events entering the two-day championships, which opened Friday at Fayetteville, Ark.
The heptathlon will conclude Saturday with the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters.
Emry did not post any career bests Friday, but he had solid marks across all four events. He finished 13th out of 16 in the 60 meters (7.16), sixth in the long jump (24-0.25), eighth in the shot put (42-9.5) and fourth in the high jump (6-7.5).
"You can look at each individual mark and get greedy, but I thought Austin did really well today," UM track and field coach Brian Schweyen said. "He was very consistent and competed really well. He wasn't scared or nervous. He just posted good, solid marks. I couldn't ask for anything more."
Emry has twice been to outdoor regionals, but Friday was his first experience competing at the national level. He credits a trip to last year's indoor nationals, which was held in Nampa, Idaho, not far from Emry's hometown of Homedale, as one of the reasons he wasn't intimidated by Friday's environment.
"It was pretty much what I was expecting," he said. "I watched the multi-events at last year's championships, and this wasn't too much different."
Arkansas junior Kevin Lazas, who is competing in his home facility at the Randal Tyson Track, holds a solid lead after day one with 3,449 points. Lazas won the 60 meters (6.90) and shot put (49-2.5), finished second in the long jump (24-9.25) and tied for seventh in the high jump (6-6.25).
Emry, who totaled 3,209 day-one points, 37 off his opening-day best, is just 70 points out of fourth place.
"At the very least I expect Austin to hold his (seventh-place) spot (on Saturday)," Schweyen said. "But I think he can move up."
Saturday opens with the 60-meter hurdles, which is one of Emry's strongest individual events. He finished second in the open 55-meter hurdles two weeks ago at the Big Sky Conference championships.
Then comes the critical pole vault, an event Emry no-heighted in at the Big Sky championships to tumble out of first place. The heptathlon closes with the 1,000 meters, an event in which Emry posted a raw-time PR at the Big Sky championships.
"I'm feeling good, and I'm feeling confident," he said. "I'm already excited for tomorrow to get here. After the high jump got done today, I was ready to start getting warmed up for the hurdles."
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