AZUSA, Calif. -- Two national records combined with the top 2 United States’ scores for this season to highlight the Mt. SAC Relays and California Invitational Heptathlons and Decathlons staged the past 2 days at Azusa Pacific University in Southern California.

Over 85 athletes entered the massive 2-day multi-event competition, and they were treated to outstanding weather conditions for both days, which in turn resulted in some excellent early season tallies.

Former UCLA standout Octavious Gillespie won the California Invitational Decathlon with a Guatemalan record 7,264 points. Gillespie entered the second day of competition in third place after scoring 3,713 points during Wednesday’s opening day competition. However, impressive showings in the discus, pole vault and javelin, an event he won with a heave of 197’ 11”, allowed him to overtake first-day leader Paul Tohill and Mike Marsh. He held off Marsh in the 1500 to eventually beat him in the overall standings by 56 points.

In the California Invitational Heptathlon, German native and Virginia Tech sophomore Saskia Triesscheijn won with a 7-event total of 5,292 points, the second best tally ever by a Hokie. Meanwhile, second-place finisher Mireya Beltran, formerly of meet-host Azusa Pacific, set the Mexican national record with 5,173 points, breaking the former standard that was set in 1985.

After sitting out all of the 2003 season, Phil McMullen returned to the decathlon with a bang, winning the 2004 Mt. SAC Relays Decathlon title with 7,937 points, the top score in the United State’s this year. McMullen trailed Chad Smith by 92 points heading into the tenth and final event, the 1500 meters. However, the former Western Michigan great ripped off a winning 4:17.79 (4 seconds off his PR), nearly 35 seconds ahead of Smith, to comeback and beat Smith in the overall standings by 124 points.

Former NAIA record-holder and Simon Fraser University star Kim Vanderhoek won the Mt. SAC Relays Heptathlon with a 2004 Canadian best score of 5,793 points, the third best score in the world so far this year. Former Colorado All-American Heather Sterlin, now competing for Nike, set the United States’ 2004 standard in the heptathlon by finishing second to Vanderhoek with 5,656 points.

For complete results of the 4 multi-events held at Azusa Pacific, click on the “Box Scores” button at the top of the page.