April 27, 2011

DES MOINES, Iowa - Junior Cliff Miller and sophomore Kurt Schneider opened action for the Michigan State track & field team at the Drake Relays on Wednesday, April 27 in Des Moines, Iowa. After the first five events, the Spartan pair rank third and fourth in the men's decathlon.

With day one in the books, Miller currently is third with a score of 3,752 points with Schneider trailing in fourth with 3,698 points. Ethan Miller of Central College currently leads with 3,860 points, 12 points ahead of former Northern Iowa star Mat Clark in second (3,848).

Miller and Schneider both highlighted the high jump portion of the decathlon as they split the event crown. Both posted heights of 2.04m to win by 0.03m.

Miller turned in his second top-5 finish of the day when he was second in the shot put with a throw of 13.51m. Miller was only 0.20m behind unattached competitor Jake Arnold. Schneider finished 10th in the event with distance of 11.23m.

Schneider opened the competition strong with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the 100m dash and the long jump. In the 100m dash, Schneider clocked in at 11.33 while he recorded a leap of 6.61m in the long jump. In the final event of the first day in the decathlon, Schneider placed fourth in the 400m dash with a time of 50.63.

For Miller, he opened the competition with an eight-place finish in the 100m dash and a sixth-place mark in the long jump. Miller posted a time of 11.43 in the dash and a leap of 6.52m in the long jump. Miller closed out day one with an eighth-place showing in the 400m dash, turning in a time of 51.55.

Action continues for both Miller and Schneider on Thursday, April 27 at the Drake Relays.