Lovell brothers off to fast start

May 21, 2009

MARIETTA, Ohio - Taking the upper hand after the very first event, Linfield decathlete Josh Lovell (Jr., Vancouver, Wash.) grabbed the lead after five events of the men’s decathlon at the NCAA Division III Championships at Don Drumm Stadium on the campus of Marietta College.

Lovell, who scored 3,822 points for the day, and twin brother Jeremy Lovell (Jr., Vancouver, Wash.), blazed to a 1-2 finish in the 100-meter dash in the first of five Thursday decathlon events. Josh Lovell (Jr., Vancouver, Wash.)’s time in the 100 of 11.11 was just a hair better than his brother’s mark of 11.16.

Josh Lovell went on to place sixth in the long jump (22-1 ½), 10th in the shot put (38-5 ½) and second in the high jump (6-6 ¾). His marks in the high jump and shot put were season-best efforts.

Jeremy Lovell sits in fourth place in the standings after Day 1 with 3,678 points. He placed third in the long jump (22-7), 14th in the shot put (36-10 ¼) and seventh in the high jump (6-2, season-best).

Both Lovells are on pace for record-setting performances. Either twin could surpass the Linfield record of 7,113 points on Friday when the 110 high hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 run are contested.

In other events staged Thursday, Linfield’s Kelly Marineau (Fr., Beaverton, Ore.) recorded a season-best mark of 135-4 in the women’s javelin but did not qualify for the finals. Teammate Katrina Amsberry (Fr., Turner, Ore.) also was not among the final eight competitors, throwing 118-10 in the preliminaries. Lisa Brown of Gustavas Adolphus won the event with a stadium record throw of 158-0.

In the women’s 10,000, Linfield’s Marci Klimek (Jr., Phoenix, Ore.) clocked 37:14.56 to place ninth in a field of 18 competitors. Lauren Philbrook of Williams won the national title with a leading time of 35:24.78. Klimek will race again in Saturday’s 5,000.

Linfield senior Laura Sibley (Sr., Seaside, Ore.) competed in the women’s 400 hurdles. She ran 1:06.21 to place sixth in her preliminary heat and did not qualify for Saturday’s finals.

Coming up on Friday, Linfield freshman Catherine Street (Fr., Wilsonville, Ore.) will compete in the women’s pole vault.

Josh Lovell
Season-best in high jump