Garland produces all-time first-day mark by NCAA competitor to challenge Eaton’s collegiate and global standards, ascends to No. 3 in U.S. history and equals No. 8 world competitor at 6,415 points; Arkansas State’s Newton-Smith wins pentathlon

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Kyle Garland, a Georgia senior, produced the No. 2 heptathlon score in collegiate indoor history Friday, accumulating 6,415 points during the two-day competition at the Texas Tech Open and Multis at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock.

Garland was ahead of world-record pace through five events and still in position to eclipse the collegiate all-time best following the pole vault, but the reigning U.S. decathlon champion ran 2 minutes, 51.40 seconds in the 1,000 meters to fall short of the 2010 mark of 6,499 points achieved by former Oregon star Ashton Eaton.

Garland elevated to the No. 3 heptathlon competitor in American history and equaled the No. 8 all-time global performer, matching the 1998 mark of Poland’s Sebastian Chmara.

Garland improved on his previous-best heptathlon performance of 6,205 points at last year’s Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships at Texas A&M, equaling the No. 13 all-time performance in the world.

Garland’s opening-day score of 3,732 points was not only the best in collegiate indoor history, but also ahead of Eaton’s first-day mark of 3,654 on his way to achieving the world record of 6,645 in 2012 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Only American athletes Dan O'Brien and Bryan Clay have produced better first-day totals in the history of the indoor heptathlon. O'Brien accumulated 3,800 points in 1993 and Clay had 3,736 points in 2008.

Garland ran 6.86 seconds in the 60-meter dash, achieved a long jump of 24-9.75 (7.56m) and improved on his own heptathlon shot put best with a mark of 53-4.25 (16.26m), before closing out Thursday’s schedule with a personal-best 7-2.25 (2.19m) in the high jump.

Garland started Friday clocking 7.84 in the 60-meter hurdles and then achieved another personal best with a 16-4.75 (5.00m) clearance in the pole vault to give him 5,634 points entering the 1,000, well ahead of Eaton’s total of 5,542 when he produced the collegiate record at the 2010 NCAA Division 1 Indoor Championships in Arkansas.

Leo Neugebauer of Texas, a German competitor, placed second behind Garland with 6,097 points.

Camryn Newton-Smith, a senior at Arkansas State, achieved a lifetime-best in the women’s pentathlon Thursday to triumph with 4,356 points to take over the collegiate indoor lead.

Newton-Smith, an Australian athlete, won the high jump with a 5-11.25 (1.81m) clearance and prevailed in the long jump with a leap of 20-2.25 (6.15m).

Texas’ Kristine Blazevica, representing Latvia, was second with 4,224 points, as six competitors surpassed the 4,000-point mark.