June 8, 2005

Sacramento, Calif. - Wake Forest freshman Michael Bingham re-aggravated an earlier injury and withdrew from the decathlon after four events at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Bingham, one of only two freshmen to participate in the decathlon, was in 18th place upon his withdrawal.

The group of 26 decathletes began their competition with the 100 meter dash. Bingham claimed first place in his group and third place overall, after an 11.09 performance, his best since the ACC Championship. The time earned him 841 points in that event.

The Burlington, N.C., native leapt 6.20 meters in the long jump (20-04.25), to earn 630 points. He stood in 15th place overall after that event.

In the shot put, Bingham threw 11.28 meters (37-00.25), his best toss since the conference meet. The distance totaled 563 points and the Deacon freshman was in 20th place after three events.

Bingham reached a height of 1.79 meters in the high jump (5-10.50), which earned him 619 points and landed him in 18th place through four events.

During the high jump, Bingham re-aggravated a previous injury and chose to withdraw from the decathlon.

Action continues on Thursday for the Deacons. Junior Lindsay Neuberger will throw the shot put in the 8:30 PM (PT) qualifying round and senior Annie Bersagel will try for her third straight All-American performance in the 10,000 meter race at 10:00 PM (PT).

Results from the competition can be found at www.WakeForestSports.com at the conclusion of each day.