Michigan
Mt. SAC/CA Invitational Combined Events
Howell Sets PR in Season-Opening Heptathlon
4/14/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
April 14, 2016
» The U-M co-captain also placed third among collegians with a new personal best of 5,493 points and also set personal best at 200 meters.
» Howell is not the only athlete in the Golden State this weekend; U-M has athletes at the Mount SAC Relays (April 14-16) and Long Beach Invitational (April 15-16), with pole vaulters competing in Siena Heights, Michigan.
• Complete Results 
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Site: Azusa, Calif. (Cougar Athletic Stadium)
Event: Mt. SAC/CA Invitational Combined Events
U-M Team Result: No Team Scoring
Next U-M Event: Thu-Sat., April 14-16 -- at Mount SAC Relays (Norwalk, Calif.), 6 p.m./10:30 a.m. PDT
AZUSA, Calif. -- Junior/sophomore co-captain Aaron Howell of the No. 25-ranked University of Michigan women's track and field team competed in her first heptathlon since 2014 on Wednesday and Thursday (April 13-14) at the Cougar Athletic Stadium as part of the Mount SAC/CA Invitational Combined Events hosted by Azusa Pacific University.
Howell set a new PR of 5,493 points competing against a strong field that included several post-collegians and professionals to get the Wolverines off to a strong start during their sun-filled week of competition on the west coast. Head coach James Henry is hopeful that her performance this week will springboard Howell to even higher scoring.
"This meet should let her know that she's back to herself, and in fact I think she's a stronger, faster athlete than she was two years ago. She had a couple of PRs and several near-PRs, but she was a little unsure of herself coming in. Hopefully this meet will give her the confidence to be more aggressive and confident. I think that our medical staff did an outstanding job of helping her reach a point where she's better than she was before her injury."
On Wednesday's (April 13) first day of action, Howell positioned herself in sixth place with a 3,346-point total. She opened with a solid run in the 100-meter hurdles, timing 14.23 for 946 points and sixth place overall.
In the high jump, Howell neared her PR but fell just short, clearing 1.72 meters on her second attempt (5-7.75 ft.) for 879 points. Howell had three attempts at 1.75 meters (5-8.75 ft.) but came just shy of matching her career best. Still, she felt encouraged by one of her better events of the week.
"I was happy with my high jump," said Howell. "After no-heighting earlier this year, it was nice to come close to my PR."
In the shot put, Howell threw 12.66 meters (41-6.5 ft.) for 705 points, again coming just shy of another PR (12.69 meters; 41-7.5 ft.). She closed Wednesday's events with a time of 25.79 seconds in the 200-meter dash for 816 points
Entering Thursday in positioned in sixth place, Howell long jumped 5.74 meters (18-10) for 771 points and threw the javelin 34.98 meters (114-9) before closing the competition on a strong note with a 2:21.37, within a second of her personal-best time from 2014 (2:20.79). That garnered another 875 points and secured her personal-best finish.
"I was really excited (coming into this competition)," said Howell, "it's been awhile since I've been able to do a full multi-event."
Leaving Azusa, Howell feels even more encouraged.
"Now that I finished, I'm really excited because I know I have a lot of improving I can do," she said. "In the back of my mind I know my scores can improve a lot so I'm just ready for the rest of the season."
U-M athletes continue competition out west on Friday (April 15) with both the Long Beach Invitational in Long Beach, California, and Mt. SAC Relays in Norwalk, California, where action began on Thursday. Howell will run the hurdles in Long Beach and possibly more.
Events in Long Beach begin at 9 a.m. PDT, and at Mt. SAC Relays races will begin at 10:30 a.m. PDT. U-M pole vaulters are also at Siena Heights University's Don Kleinow Invitational on Saturday (April 16).
COLLEGIATE PERSONAL BESTS
Heptathlon -- 5,493 points
200 meters -- 25.79
TWEET OF THE WEEK
Results from @aaronsky4's Heptathlon out in California. 3rd collegian and a new PR of 5,493. Way to go, Aaron! pic.twitter.com/2YiOY44thI
-- Michigan Track&Field (@umichtrack) April 14, 2016
Communications Contact: Chad Shepard
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