Danielle McCarty Finishes Third in Potts Pentathlon

Jan. 18, 2008

BOULDER, Colo. - Air Force sophomore Danielle McCarty improved her standing in the Academy's all-time pentathlon records with a third-place finish at the Potts Invitational on Friday, Jan. 18, at Balch Fieldhouse in Boulder, Colo. McCarty, who already held the seventh-best total in program history, increased her personal-best by over 200 points to finish with 2,999 points.

McCarty was one of three Falcons to compete in the pentathlon on Friday afternoon. Freshman Katherine Higdon placed fifth with 2,338 points, while senior captain Deb Durey competed in the first three events before withdrawing from the competition.

Finishing second among collegiate competitors, McCarty was just 100 points shy of the top collegiate spot. Her best finishes of the day came in the shot put and 800-meter run, as she finished second in both events. She tossed a distance of 31'5¼" in the shot put and clocked an 800-meter time of 2:35.81 to claim the top collegiate times. McCarty also finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.72) and long jump (15'3¼"), while placing fifth in the high jump (4'11¾").

Higdon's top finishes came in the shot put and long jump. In her first collegiate multi-event meet, she tossed a 29'6" to finish fifth in the shot, while earning the same placement in the long jump at 14'5¼". Like Higdon, Durey's top finish came in the shot put, where she threw 30'1" to finish fourth.

Four members of the men's team competed in the first four events of the heptathlon. Junior Skylar Morgan is currently in second place with 2,703 points, while senior captain Matt Gensic is third with 2,516 points. Freshmen Philip Rancourt (fifth) and Noah Palicia (sixth) round out the Air Force contingent with respective point-totals of 2,174 and 2,126.

Morgan, who is just 26 points out of first-place, won the shot put with a toss of 38'9". He also collected second-place scores in the long jump (21'0") and high jump (6'2¾"), while clocking a time of 7.48 to finish fourth in the 60-meter hurdles.

Gensic also had a strong day, finishing second in the shot put (34'10¼") and third in the high jump (5'11¼"). Like his upperclassmen counterparts, Rancourt's best finish also came in the shot put, as he threw a 32'9¾" to finish fourth. Palicia recorded a fifth-place height of 5'8¾" in the high jump for his best single-event performance.

The quartet will continue action tomorrow (Jan. 19) with the final three events. The heptathlon's 60-meter hurdles are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and will be followed by the pole vault and 1000-meter run.

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