TACOMA, Wash.—Lewis & Clark College freshmen Jonathan Fritz and Malia Heien each sit in the top-four after Day 1 of the 2023. Northwest Conference Track & Field Multis Events Championship. 
 
THE BASICS
 
Decathlon (5 out of 10 events completed) 
Jonathan Fritz – 2^nd out of 12 competitors – 3,146 points 
Nick Stade – 7^th out of 12 competitors – 3,012 points 
 
Heptathlon (4 out of 7 events completed) 
Malia Heien – 4^th out of 9 competitors – 2,267 points 
Olivia Farrar – 8^th out of 9 competitors – 1,911 points 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 
DECATHLON 
 
Fritz got off to a strong start in the first three events and Stade posted the top time in the final event of the day to put both athletes in contention to score points in the first event of the 2023 NWC Championship Meet. 
 
The decathlon kicked off with the 100m dash. Fritz finished second overall and second in his heat with a time of 11.27. Stade came in third in his heat and fifth overall with a mark of 11.47. 
 
Both Pioneers posted solid results in the long jump. Fritz placed fourth in the event with a leap of 6.09m (19-11.75 feet). Stade was just behind him in sixth with a jump of 5.93m (19-05.50 feet). 
 
Fritz earned his third-consecutive top-four finish in the shot put. The freshman heaved the shot put 10.94m (35-10.75) to finish third overall. Stade came in 12^th in the event with a throw of 8.06m (26-05.50 feet). 
 
The Pioneers freshman duo finished tied for seventh in the high jump. Both jumpers cleared 1.71m (5-07.25 feet) to earn 552 points. 
 
In the final event of the day (400m dash), Stade earned the Pioneers lone first-place showing of the day. He beat the Day 1 leader Tayler Phillips by 0.22 seconds to take first place in 51.20. Fritz came across in eighth place in the event with a time of 53.86. 
 
HEPTATHLON
 
Heien finished in the top five in all four events and Farrar posted two PRs and tied another on Day 1 of the heptathlon. 
 
The women's track & field pair kicked off the day in the 100m hurdles. Heien earned fifth place in the event with a time of 17.18. Farrar won her heat to take seventh place with a mark of 17.55.  
 
In the high jump, Heien finished in a tie for fourth place with a leap of 1.43m (4-08.25 feet). Farrar came in a tie for sixth in the high jump, when she cleared 1.40m (4-07.00 feet). 
 
Heien placed tied for fourth in the shot put as well, as her throw of 9.28m (30-05.00 feet) tied her with Whitworth University's Breanne Rawls. Farrar placed ninth in the shot put with a mark of 6.91m (22-08.00 feet). 
 
The heptathlon concluded with the 200m dash. Hein earned her best finish of the day with a third-place result (27.57). Farrar took eighth in the 200m with a time of 29.27. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Fritz and Stade are in a tight pack in the decathlon after five of the 10 events. Fritz sits in second (3,146 points). He is 428 points behind Phillips (1^st place) and just 34 points ahead of third place. Stade ranks seventh but is only 180 points behind Fritz. 
• Heien sits in fourth place just 23 points behind Rawls for third place. The top two student-athletes, both from George Fox University, both have a 250+ points lead on Rawls and Heien. Farrar ranks eighth and will look to catch #7 George Fox's Breeauna O'Rear who owns a 213 points lead with three events to go. 
• Farrar set new PRs in the 100m hurdles (0.72 second improvement), high jump (one inch) and tied her career-best time in the 200m (29.27). 
• Fritz tied his career-best time in the 100m (11.27) and broke his PR time in the 400m by 0.88 seconds. 
• Stade set PRs in the 400m (1.02 seconds faster) and the 100m (0.03 second PR). 
• Heien broke her PR in the 100m hurdles (0.28 seconds better).  

WHAT'S NEXT 
 
The NWC Multis Events Meet will conclude on Tuesday at the University of Puget Sound. The decathlon will resume at 11am with the final five events (110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500m). The heptathlon will begin at Noon with the final three events (long jump, javelin and 800m). The top three student-athletes in each competition will be named to the All-Conference team and the top eight will score points for their team.