May 14, 2004

USC junior Chelsea Hammond, the National Athlete of the Week this week, is in second place of the heptathlon after the first day of the SEC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Oxford, Miss.

The hep and dec finals are today with a number of preliminary events being run as well. The SEC Championships run through Sunday.

Hammond has scored 3261 points. Her first day marks include:

100m hurdles: 14.05; High Jump: 5′ 8 1/2; Shot Put: 30′ 4 1/4; and 200m: 24.78.

“I was disappointed in the shot put, I only threw 31 feet and I normally throw 39 feet so I knew I had to put a good effort into the 200 meters, and try to catch up,” said Hammond. “Overall, I am satisfied, I probably won’t get a personal best this meet, but the most important thing is the points, so I am going to have to come out here and do the best I can for my team.”

Fred Townsend is in ninth place of the decathlon with 3235 points. His first-day marks included: 100m: 12.34; Long Jump: 21′ 1/2; Shot Put: 35′ 6; High Jump: 6′ 8 3/4; and 400m: 55.30.

Townsend’s younger sister Reanna, a USC freshman, is in 13th place of the heptathlon. Her first day marks include: 100m hurdles: 14.74; High Jump: 5′ 2 1/2; Shot Put: 29′ 7 1/4 and 200m: 26.50.