Nwaba in Fourth After Day One of U.S. Olympic Trials

EUGENE, Ore. – Recent UC Santa Barbara graduate Barbara Nwaba had a strong opening day on Friday in the women's heptathlon at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon. The collegiate All-American currently sits in fourth place with 3,736 points, which is just 26 points out of third place and 212 out of first.

Nwaba opened the day with a seventh-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles (13.68) and finished first in her heat. She then went on to tie for first in the high jump, clearing a personal best of 6-1 ½ on her second attempt at the height.

In the shot put, she placed seventh, with a toss of 41-1 ½. She opened with a throw of 40-7 ½ and improved upon that mark with her third toss.

Friday's final event was the 200-meter dash. Nwaba crossed first in her heat with a time of 24.33 seconds, which was good for ninth overall.

The heptathlon competition will conclude on Saturday with the long jump, javelin throw and 800-meter run.

Hyleas Fountain currently leads with 3,948 points while former Cal Poly standout Sharon Day is in second with 3,797 points. Chantae McMillian rounds out the top-three with 3,762 points.

The top-three finishers, who have also achieved the Olympic 'A' standard, will earn a spot on the U.S. Olympic Team. Nwaba has yet to achieve the standard, which is 6,150 points. Her current best is 5,927.