Kilmartin wins third NCAA Indoor heptathlon championship
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Senior national champion and All-American Donovan Kilmartin (Eagle, Idaho) netted a track hat-trick in winning his third NCAA heptathlon national title in of the 2007 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Kilmartin tallied 5,998 points, won the high jump and added four additional top five finishes on the final day (Saturday, March 10) of competition at Randal Tyson Track and Field Center. With the win, Kilmartin extends his heptathlon win streak to five, dating back to the 2006 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships. The stretch also includes the 2006 NCAA Indoor Championship, 2007 Roger Cox Multi's Meet Championship, and the 2007 Big 12 Indoor Conference Championship. Kilmartin won the indoor national championships in 2004, 2006 and 2007. The three-time national champion and six-time All-American held onto first place through the final four events despite having a competitor within 150 points while he lead the heptathlon. The last event (1,000-meter run) was the determining factor as Kilmartin had to remain within 11 seconds of Arizona's Jake Arnold to maintain his lead on the overall scoreboard. Earlier this year, Arnold beat Kilmartin by 17 seconds in the same event at the Roger Cox Multi's Meet in Albuquerque, N.M. Kilmartin ran a lifetime best 2:47.44, less than five seconds back of Arnold, in finishing in eighth-place and securing his third national title. In the opening event, Kilmartin finished in the middle of the pack of 60-meter hurdlers, clearing each barrier in a total of 8.26 seconds. He added 917 points to his overall total. The heptathlon pole vault turned into one of the better competitions of the meet as Kilmartin dueled with Arnold for the individual event championship. Kilmartin entered the event at 15-5 (4.70-meters), and cleared each of the first four heights on his first attempts. At 17-0.75 (5.20-meters), Kilmartin missed on his initial trip down the runway but vaulted over the bar with ease on the second jump. After tying his season-best height of 17-0.75 (5.20-meters), he missed all three attempts at 17-4.75 (5.30-meters) ending the competition in second-place and scoring 972 points. His point total in the pole vault was the highest of all seven events in the two-day meet. Kilmartin, who entered as the defending champion and national leader in the event, tallied 3,316 points through the opening four events at the Randal Tyson Track and Field Center. He won the high jump and placed in the top five in the other three events on Friday, March 9. In the men's heptathlon 1,000-meter run, Wisconsin senior Joe Detmer shattered the world record time of 2:30.25 with his final day performance of 2:29.42. NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Heptathlon 60-mter hurdles Heptathlon Pole vault Heptathlon 1,000-meter Heptathlon Day One Results Individual Day One Results Long jump Shot put High jump
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