Barbara Nwaba finishes day 1 of the Heptathlon in second place after a personal record day Event Website
SACRAMENTO, Calif - Heading into the 1500m, the last event of the ten-event, two-day Decathlon competition at the USA Track & Field Championships, Santa Barbara Track Club's (SBTC) Tom FitzSimons Jr. was in seventh position. Running close to his personal record, FitzSimons Jr. won the 1500m in 4:19.01, over eight seconds ahead of the second place finisher in the race, vaulting himself to a surprise third place finish in the Decathlon with 7,645 points.
Fantastic Day 2 for FitzSimons Jr.
first national championships less than three weeks ago, FitzSimons Jr. crossed the line in first in 4:19.01 to earn his spot on the podium at the USA National Championships.
"It feels amazing! My coach and training partners at the SBTC have really allowed me to vault myself to a new level," commented FitzSimons Jr. shortly after the finish of the Decathlon. "It's great to look back and know you've made the right moves from High School to college and now professionally. I have had a lot of incredible support along the way."
"I knew Tom was capable of surprising people this weekend and it was incredible to see the determination he had throughout the second day of competition," stated SBTC Head Coach, Josh Priester. "It was a historic day for the SBTC as we had our first podium finisher at the outdoor national championships."
Nwaba in Second After Day 1 of Heptathlon
Barbara Nwaba completed a personal record first day of competition in the Heptathlon finishing with 3,802 points, just 123 points off leader, Sharon Day. She scored a personal best in the 100m Hurdles in a Heptathlon competition to kick off the day and then notched personal records in the Shot Put and 200m to round out the afternoon.
Lindsay Schwartz, who was not at 100%, performed strongly throughout the first day and is currently in seventh place with 3,515 points.
Additional Santa Barbara News
- *UPDATE* 2012 UC-Santa Barbara graduate, Ryan Martin, finished 5th in the second heat of the 800m Semi-finals, which did not qualify at first. However, a petition was submitted (another athlete impeding progress) and Martin has been granted a spot in the finals.
- Santa Barbara native and 2014 Chico State graduate J. Patrick Smith finished in 6th place in the Decathlon with 7,567 points.
- Westmont College freshman, Becky Collier, finished 5th in the Junior Heptathlon with a personal best 4,988 points.
- 2012 UC-Santa Barbara graduate, Derek Masterson, finished 9th in the Decathlon with 7,423 points.
- Tommy Schmitz finished 11th in the first heat of the 1500m semi-finals and did not advance to Saturday's finals.
About the Santa Barbara Track Club The Santa Barbara Track Club aims to create a progressive and cohesive Track & Field experience for members of our community from youth to masters as well as the development of Olympians and Olympic hopefuls alike. The professional athletes are composed of combined events athletes and middle distance athletes who also work within the community by serving as coaches and mentors to youth. The coaching and personal training efforts of the athletes help to fund the continued growth of Santa Barbara as an international training hub as well as to promote cultural exchange and shared education.