Posted: March 6, 2005

Athletics: Harlan leads at USA Indoor Combined Events Championships

2004 NCAA Division I decathlon champion Ryan Harlan leads the men's heptathlon after the first day of competition at the 2005 USA Indoor Combined Events Championships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Harlan, a senior at Rice University, totaled 3,411 points Saturday to grab the lead against 13 other competitors, including defending champion and 2004 Olympian Paul Terek, who is in a close second place with 3,323 points. Ryan Olkowski is in third with 3,265 points, while Chris Boyles is in fourth place with 3,259 points.

Harlan won two of the four events contested on Saturday. He won the shot put with a best of effort of 16.09 meters/52 feet, 9.5 inches, before capturing the high jump with a clearance of 2.13m/6-11.75. Olkowski won the 60 meters in 6.88 seconds for the second year in a row, while Terek won the long jump with a leap of 7.33m/24-0.75.

The women's pentathlon competition will begin at noon on Sunday, March 6, with the men's heptathlon resuming at the Eddie Smith Field House at 1:00 p.m.

For more information on the 2005 USA Combined Events Championships, including complete results, visit our Web site at USATF.org.