Bettis First in Heptathlon After Four Events at MWC Championships

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Feb. 25, 2010) - Defending champion Phillip Bettis racked up 3,000 points in the heptathlon as the BYU men's and women's teams began their defense of their Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships on Thursday.

Bettis, winner of the event a year ago as a sophomore, took first place in the shot put and high jump, tied for first in the 60-meter dash, and finished in second place in the long jump, putting the junior 137 points ahead of second place with the 60-meter hurdles.

It marked the first time Bettis has reached the 3,000-point plateau after the first day of competition with the pole vault and 1,000 meters still to come on Friday.

Also in the event, junior Brett Birkeland currently sits in seventh with 2,469 points. John Reilly, a sophomore, is two spots back in ninth place with a score of 2,421. Both athletes scored highest in the 60-meter dash with Birkeland finishing in fourth and Reilly in fifth.

On the women's side, Amy Otis scored an NCAA provisional-qualifying 4,053 points in the pentathlon, 35 points more than in last year's championship, but fell just short of defending her title at second place.

Otis handily won the 60-meter hurdles and the long jump events, earning her fourth-career indoor All-MWC honor and sixth overall, giving the Cougar women's team eight points with her finish.

Junior Mindy Robins earned an additional two points to the team standings with her seventh-place finish in the pentathlon, also earning her highest point totals in the 60-meter hurdles and long jump on the way to 3,391 points.

The final events in the men's heptathlon will start off the second day of events at 11 a.m. MT and will culminate in the women's and men's distance medleys at approximately 5:30 p.m. MT. CLICK HERE for the complete schedule.

CLICK HERE for complete results at the MWC's official website.