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Josie Hahn Takes Second in SEC Pentathlon Friday 2/25/2005 Fayetteville, Ark. – Vanderbilt senior Josie Hahn narrowly missed winning her second Southeastern Conference individual track and field title Friday, finishing second in the pentathlon at the SEC Indoor Championships at the University of Arkansas. Hahn’s victory in the final pentathlon event — a personal best of 2:18.33 in the 800 meters – wasn’t enough to overcome Arkansas senior Beyonka McDowell, who set personal bests in four events en route to winning the competition. Hahn, a resident of Clinton, Tenn., accumulated 4,046 points in the event. McDowell captured the pentathlon with a 4,076-point total. Jessica Stockard of Georgia finished third with 4,019 points. Hahn, named the 2004 Tennessee Female Amateur Athlete of the Year at the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame banquet last weekend, was seeking to capture her second SEC title, duplicating a heptathlon victory last May at the SEC Outdoor Championships in Oxford, Miss. Hahn becomes the first Commodore to earn team points in the same SEC indoor event four years in a row. She also finished third, fourth and sixth in the conference pentathlon in 2004, 2003 and 2002, respectively. Hahn and McDowell dominated the field of 20 participants, combining to win four of the five of the pentathlon events. McDowell won the 60-meter hurdles and shot put, while Hahn took the high jump with a seasonal best of 5’10.75″ clearance and 800-meter dash in a collegiate best performance. Three other Commodores, Garnetta Holloway, Latisha Bryant and Anjarae Washington, also competed in the pentathlon. They finished 12th, 16th and 17th, respectively. Hahn’s point accumulation is a national provisional mark, almost assuring that she will compete at the NCAA Indoor Championships March 10-12 at the University of Arkansas. A holder of five Commodore team records, Hahn will attempt to win her first indoor conference title Sunday as a co-favorite in the high jump. Only one other high jumper in the conference, Krystle Moss of Florida, has reached the height that Hahn achieved in the pentathlon competition. |
