USC’s Jones elevates to No. 11 in collegiate heptathlon history with 6,217 points and former Stanford teammate Williams ascends to No. 12 all-time American decathlete; Winona State’s Cunningham and Saint Benedict’s Smith both improve to No. 3 performers in 10,000 in respective NCAA divisions 

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

WALNUT, Calif. – A pair of former Stanford standouts are at different stages of their careers and in different locations in California now than when their journeys overlapped for one year in 2018-19, but Harrison Williams and Allie Jones demonstrated they are both more formidable than ever as multi-event athletes at the 63rd Mt. SAC Relays.

EVENT VIDEOS | RESULTS | INTERVIEWS | PHOTOS by Chuck Aragon

Williams, competing in his first decathlon since June 2021 following surgery to repair a torn labrum and representing Chula Vista Elite as a 27-year-old professional athlete, produced a lifetime-best 8,492 points Wednesday and Thursday at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.

Jones, 22, has already made significant strides as a graduate student-athlete at USC, eclipsing the heptathlon program record held by Wendy Brown that had stood since 1988 with a lifetime-best 6,217 points.

Jones elevated to the No. 11 heptathlete in collegiate history. Williams ascended to the No. 12 all-time American decathlete.

And both competitors remained confident that they are only scratching the surface in terms of the level they expect to be performing at when championship season arrives.

Jones won four events, including the 800 meters in 2:13.03 to punctuate her victory, allowing her to surpass Brown’s mark of 6,079 points.

Jones, the NCAA Division 1 runner-up in the indoor pentathlon, also prevailed in the long jump with a wind-aided leap of 20-5.25 (6.23m), as well as the 100-meter hurdles in 13.10 seconds and 200 meters in 23.43.

Ida Eikeng, a junior at Washington representing Norway, improved to No. 21 in collegiate history with 6,100 points, highlighted by a javelin victory with a second-round throw of 171-6 (52.29m).

Eikeng won last year at Mt. SAC with 5,916 points and placed second at the Division 1 outdoor final with 5,939 points at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

Beatrice Juskeviciute, a graduate student-athlete at Vanderbilt representing Lithuania, elevated to the No. 27 all-time collegiate competitor with 6,073 points.

Juskeviciute took third in the 800 in 2:16.59, following a second-place finish behind Eikeng in the javelin with a throw of 154-1 (46.98m).

American professional athletes Hope Bender (5,837) and Erin Marsh (5,812) were fourth and fifth, respectively. Former U.S. heptathlon champions Erica Bougard and Annie Kunz were both unable to complete all seven events, with 2022 indoor pentathlon winner Chari Hawkins taking 11th overall with 5,191 points.

Williams led four athletes surpassing the 8,000-point barrier, with Michigan State’s Heath Baldwin improving on his previous-best mark by more than 400 points to secure second with 8,084.

Baldwin won the high jump with a 6-9.50 (2.07m) clearance and was second in the javelin with a 212-1 (64.64m) performance, before closing out the competition with a 4:49.73 in the 1,500.

Iowa’s Austin West, who accumulated a lifetime-best 8,179 points at Mt. SAC last year to finish second overall, took third Wednesday and Thursday with 8,038 points, including a 1,500 victory in 4:30.37.

Kendrick Thompson relied on a 213-foot (64.93m) performance in the javelin to propel him to a Bahamian national record and a fourth-place finish with 8,015 points.

Georgia’s Kyle Garland was leading Williams by a four-point margin with three events remaining, but the collegiate record holder in the decathlon and indoor heptathlon was unable to clear his opening height of 14-1.25 (4.30m) in the pole vault and didn’t compete in the javelin or 1,500 as a result. 

Arkansas’ Marcus Weaver won the men’s collegiate/open decathlon competition with 7,549 points.

Chinese professional athlete WuGa He led from wire to wire in the women’s invitational elite 10,000 meters to prevail in 32:25.35.

Winona State sophomore Lindsay Cunningham placed second in a lifetime-best 32:43.64, elevating to the No. 3 all-time competitor in NCAA Division 2 after improving by more than 80 seconds.

XiuZhen Ma of China took third in 33:07.47 and Muriel Coneo of Colombia finished fourth in 33:09.02, with Fiona Smith of Saint Benedict placing fifth in a personal-best 33:23.89, ascending to the No. 3 performer in Division 3 history after improving by nearly 70 seconds.

Texas senior Haftu Knight triumphed in the men’s elite invitational 10,000 in 28:32.53, with Guatemala’s Mario Pacay placing second in 28:36.19 and Gonzaga’s James Mwaura taking third in 28:39.50.

Jan Lukas Becker of Mississippi College, a German transfer from fellow Division 2 program Queens University in North Carolina, finished fourth in 28:43.24.

New Zealand professional athlete Geordie Beamish, representing On Athletics Club, produced a late surge to edge Eastern Kentucky’s Pedro Garcia-Palencia of Spain by an 8:42.56 to 8:42.57 margin in the men’s invitational elite 3,000-meter steeplechase.

British competitor Stevie Lawrence of ASICS Mammoth Track Club prevailed in the women’s invitational elite 3,000 steeplechase in a personal-best 10:03.95, with Italian athlete Katja Pattis of Idaho improving by more than 17 seconds to secure runner-up in 10:05.31.

Kansas State’s Hannah Stewart also achieved a lifetime-best in the collegiate/open section of the women’s 3,000 steeplechase by clocking 10:14.79.

Virginia Tech’s Alec Fleming was victorious in the men’s collegiate/open section of the 3,000 steeplechase in 8:50.65.

New Mexico State’s Emily Stutesman won the women’s collegiate/open section of the 10,000 in 34:33.80.

Ignacio Velasquez of Chile earned the win in the men’s collegiate/open section of the 10,000 in 29:08.48.