USF’s Dayana Octavien set a Conference USA record to win the hammer throw on the opening day of the 2004 C-USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship at the University of Louisville’s Cardinal Park. Octavien’s heave of 63.97 meters on Thursday marked her second consecutive conference championship in the event.

Octavien’s previous record of 60.98 meters was set at last year’s league meet in Charlotte. In addition to Thursday’s performance being a conference record, it was also an NCAA regional qualifying mark and a Cardinal Park new benchmark. The old standard of 57.55 meters was established by Marquette’s Julie Sorrentino at the 2002 conference meet.

DePaul’s Jarrod Jahnke successfully defended his men’s hammer throw crown with a toss of 59.49 meters. Jahnke’s throw was over three meters better than his winning mark from last year’s championship and over a meter better than his best mark this year of 58.03 set at the Notre Dame Spring Opener. His toss was also an NCAA regional qualifying mark.

In the women’s 10,000-meter race, Cincinnati’s Ruth Limo defended her title in the event with a clocking of 36:38.86. At the 2003 C-USA Outdoor Championship, she posted a winning time of 35:59.36. Brent Des Roches of Marquette won his first 10,000-meter championship, covering the distance in 30:58.01.

The 2004 outdoor championship got underway on Thursday morning with competition in the men’s decathlon and the women’s heptathlon.

After five events in decathlon, Cincinnati’s Chris Wineberg is the event’s leader with 3,840 points. Charlotte’s Reagan Barry is in second place with 3,674 points. Wineberg’s teammate, Ben Haber, is in third place with 3,586 points. Rounding out the top five is Marquette’s Nick Newton (3,541) and Brad Bailey of Charlotte (3,430) in fourth and fifth place, respectively, among the 11 athletes taking part in the event.

Houston’s Krystal Ward leads the 15-competitor heptathlon field after four events with a first day total of 3,083 points. UAB’s Judy Shepherd is second with 3,051 points. She is followed in the standings by Victoria Crawford of Memphis (3,018), Cincinnati’s Ashley Wilhelm (3,016) and Louisville’s Kelly Faber (2,902) in spots 3-5, respectively.

The decathlon competitors have the 110-meter hurdles, the discus throw, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meter events remaining on Friday. The heptathlon field will contest the long jump, the javelin throw and the 800-meter run left for the second day of action.

In the team standings’, Louisville has assumed the early lead on the men’s side with 27 points, while USF is the leader in the women’s competition with 22 points.

Live scoring updates and latest team standings can be found out at www.Alltraxtiming.com.

Men’s Team Standings
1. Louisville – 27
2. Marquette – 12
3. DePaul – 11
4. USF – 9
5. Charlotte – 8
6. East Carolina – 4
6. Memphis – 4
8. Cincinnati - 3

Women’s Team Standings
1. USF – 22
2. Cincinnati – 21
3. East Carolina - 6
3. Houston – 6
3. Marquette – 6
6. DePaul - 5
6. Louisville - 5
6. Southern Miss – 5
9. Tulane – 1
9. UAB –1