Day defends pentathlon title at USA Indoor Championships

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sharon Day, a former Costa Mesa High standout, successfully defended her indoor title in the women’s pentathlon with 4,478 points at the 2013 USA Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

Day, a two-time Olympian, won with a margin of 145 points to earn her second consecutive USA Combined Event Championship title. Day recorded a personal best in the shot put (49 feet, 5 1/2 inches) and the best mark of the day in the high jump (5-11 1/2). She ran 8.57 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, jumped 19-1 1/4 in the long jump, and ran the 800 in 2:20.

Day will return to competition on Sunday in the women’s open high jump.

Bettie Wade, the 2011 USA Indoor Combined Event champion, finished second with 4,333 points.

Lindsay Lettow, a four-time Division II NCAA champion at Central Missouri, finished third in her first USA Indoor Championship.

The event can be viewed Saturday on Universal Sports from 3-5 p.m. PST and Sunday on NBC Sports Network from 1-3 p.m. PST.

Portions of Friday’s competition can be viewed online via RunnerSpace.com.

“It feels really good to repeat, hopefully next year I can make it three,” Day told USA Track & Field. “It was a good day, there were definitely ups and downs. I started off with an okay hurdles, then okay high jump, but an amazing shot put, so that kind of redeemed the other two. This facility is amazing and especially for the high jump. There is so much bounce on the surface. This is my first time running at altitude and I had forgot my 800 [meter] shoes. I’ve got lots of rehab and rest [Saturday], then I’ll come back on Sunday afternoon for the open high jump.”

— From staff reports