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TURLOCK, Calif. – So the day didn't start off the way Crystal Sims had hoped it would at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships.

No problem. A flying fast finish more than made up for it.

Sims won the 200-meter dash and placed second in the shot put, and Ali Worthen was top-5 in three of the four events, posted three personal bests, and is sitting in sixth place overall after the first day of the women's heptathlon at the NCAA Division II Track & Field Championships.

Falcons junior Worthen (Coos Bay, Ore.) has 3,117 points after four events at Warrior Stadium on the Cal State Stanislaus University campus. That beat her previous first-day career high of 3,009 that she set on April 13 at the California Invitational. She is just 56 points out of the top three heading into Friday's final day of the hep, which includes the long jump, javelin and 800 meters.

Sims (Portland, Ore.), thanks to her strong performance in Thursday's last two events, has 3,062 points and is in eighth place overall among the 16 competitors.

Sophomore Katy Gross (Everett, Wash./Cascade HS) is 14th after the first day with 2,871 points.

As expected, pre-meet favorite Lindsay Lettow of Central Missouri is leading the way. Lettow won the meet-opening 100-meter hurdles in a remarkable 13.76 seconds to pick up a whopping 1,013 points. She has 3,414 through four events, a 202-point bulge on second-place Abby Kacandi of Ashland. Kacandi won the high jump and the shot put on Thursday.

On Thursday night, Worthen was back in action, finishing 17th in the long jump with a mark of 17 feet, 1 1/4 inches.

Falcons senior Sims set a personal-best time of 25.09 seconds in winning the 200, giving her 879 points. Her previous PR was 25.13, set in 2010. She had gone as fast as 25.16 this season. At the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships on May 14 in Monmouth, Ore., she ran second to SPU teammate Kishia Mitchell in the 200-meter finals in 25.58.

“The 200, I just stuck it out there,” Sims said. “It didn't feel that fast, but it felt comfortable.”

Sims nearly had two more PRs, as well. She threw 39 feet, 6 inches in the shot put, just three-quarters of an inch short of her best. She ran in the 100 hurdles in 14.83, a mere two-hundredths of a second shy of her lifetime best, but not nearly what she had in mind for the opening event of the hep.

“The hurdles just didn't go for me. I just wasn't hitting with those,” Sims said. “Brittany (Aanstad, one of her teammates) and Karl (Lerum, SPU's head coach0 came over and reminded me that I had three more events to look forward to, and I just stayed focused. I pulled it together for the high jump (14th place at 5-0 ¼), and in the shot, I stayed pretty consistent with that.”

Personal-record consistency got the job done for GNAC heptathlon champion Worthen. She shattered two of her all-time bests on the track opening with a 14.42 in the 100 hurdles for fifth place and 920 points (old best was 14.71). She finished with a 25.65 in the 200, good for fourth place. Her 200 time was her first under 26 seconds. Her previous best was 26.03.

Worthen was just 13th in the shot put, but her mark of 33 feet, 3 ¾ inches was 1 ¼ inches farther than her previous best of 32-2 ½, set on May 2, the first day of the GNAC heptathlon. In between those events, Worthen took fourth in the high jump at 5-6.

“Ali is really on – that's an exciting start for her,” Lerum said. “Crystal was disappointed a little bit in her hurdles. It wasn't a bad race, but not what she felt she was capable of. To her credit, she kept swinging.”

Gross won the very first race of the meet, taking her heat of the 100 hurdles in 14.94 seconds – the first time she has broken the 15-second barrier Her previous best at 15.07 in the GNAC semifinals. Thursday's time eventually wound up 12th overall. Gross finished 10th in the high jump (5-2 ½), 11th in the shot (34-7 ¾), and 16th in the 200 (26.77).






NCAA WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
NCAA Division II Championships
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Warrior Stadium at Cal State Stanislaus/Turlock, Calif.

Long jump -- 1, Jillisa Grant (N.M. Highlands) 20-10 1/2 / 6.36m. SPU placer -- 17, Ali Worthen 17-1 1/4 / 5.21m.

HEPTATHLON
Standings – 1, Lindsay Lettow (C. Missouri) 3414; 2, Abby Kascandi (Ashland) 3212; 3, Stephanie LeFever (UC San Diego) 3173; 4, Erin Alewine (C. Missouri) 3152; 5, Cheryl Bourne (Ashland) 3133; 6, Ali Worthen (SPU) 3117; 7, Tuekeha Huntley (Cal State LA) 3074; 8, Crystal Sims (SPU) 3062; 9, Lisa Roth (Ashland) 3004; 10, Sami Spencer (Neb.-Omaha) 2982; 11, Zoe Sharplin (C. Missouri) 2950; 12, Jena Isaacson (Neb.-Kearney) 2898; 13, Kelly Clancey (Chico State) 2878; 14, Katy Gross (SPU) 2871; 15, Angela Selby (C. Missouri) 2834; 16, Melinda Wentz (West Chester) 2767.

Heptathlon 100 hurdles – 1, Lettow (C. Missouri) 13.76 (1013 points). SPU placers – 5, Worthen 14.42 (920); 10, Sims 14.83 (864); 12, Gross 14.94 (850).
Heptathlon high jump – 1,Kascandi (Ashland) 5-9 ¾ / 1.77m (941 points). SPU placers – 4, Worthen 5-6 / 1.68m (830); 10, Gross 5-2 ½ / 1.59m (724); 14, Sims 5-0 ¼ / 1.53m (655).
Heptathlon shot put – 1, Kascandi (Ashland) 42-9 ½ / 13.04m (730 points). SPU placers – 2, Sims 39-6 / 12.04m (664); 11, Gross 34-7 ¾ / 10.56m (566); 13, Worthen 33-3 ¾ / 10.15m (539).
Heptathlon 200 – 1, Sims (SPU) 25.09 (879 points). Other SPU placers – 4, Worthen 25.65 (828); 16, Gross 26.77 (731).