Feb. 11, 2011
AMES, Iowa - Romain Martin finished the heptathlon strong at the Iowa State Classic, shattering the UT Arlington and Southland Conference records in the process.
Competing in his first collegiate heptathlon, Martin set personal-bests in three events - the 60m, long jump and pole vault - in posting a cumulative score of 5647 points. His total ranked first among collegiate athletes at the Iowa State Classic.
Martin's score currently ranks eighth nationally. He narrowly missed the automatic qualifying standard of 5675 points.
"We knew when we signed Romain last year that opportunities like this would present themselves," UTA coach John Sauerhage said. "For him to come finish in first and happen to come out and get a personal-best score and qualify nationally speaks very well of him. He's a very talented athlete and we're just glad he's on our side."
Martin led all collegiate competitors heading into the final day. He maintained that pace Friday by setting a personal best in the pole vault with a mark of 4.80 meters. That mark ties him for fifth in the conference.
Martin's time of 8.36 in the 60m hurdles ranks 12th in the SLC. His high jump of 2.01 meters ranks eighth in the conference and his 6.92-meter long jump ranks 11th.
"It went really well," Martin said in an interview on flotrack.org. "I broke four (personal records), so I'm really happy. My main objective is the NCAA championship in March, but in two weeks I have the conference."
Cordero Gray also helped UT Arlington create a buzz at the meet on Friday. The senior sprinter won the 200m by turning in a time of 21.08.
Gray's time was 0.37 seconds better than the second-place finisher. His time also easily marked his season-best mark.
Gray, who will compete in the 60m on Saturday, is now tied for 16th in the nation in the 200m and is currently tied for 17th nationally in the 60m.
Clayton Vaughn and Juan Lewis tied for 19th in the 200m with times of 21.97.
For the women, Pamela Vinson improved her personal-best time in the 200m by nearly half a second, running a 24.30. She finished fourth in the event and while bettering her previous mark by 0.43 seconds.
Shannon Reynolds finished 17th with a time of 24.96. DeAndrea Smith placed 39th by clocking a 25.39.
