DES MOINES - University of Northern Iowa junior Jordan Williams earned a 14th-place finish in the discus on the first day of the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Wednesday at Drake Stadium. Williams threw 183-10 (56.04m), and will garner second-team All-American honors to become the first UNI men's thrower ever to earn an All-American designation at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
The top eight finishers are named first-team All-Americans, while the next eight finishers comprise the second team.
"Jordan did a nice job today, and we are very proud of the way he competed all season," said UNI head track & field coach Dan Steele. "Second-team All-American is a great honor."
On the first day of decathlon competition, junior Daniel Gooris used strong performances in the 100m dash and shot put to hold 18th place. Gooris totaled 3,715 points through the first five events. Kurt Felix of Boise State leads with 4,187 points.
Gooris opened the decathlon with a lifetime-best performance in the 100m, crossing the line in 11.31 seconds to trim 0.17 seconds off his previous best of 11.48. He jumped 20-10.50 (6.36m) in the long jump, then posted the fifth-best shot put mark in the field and a new outdoor personal-best of 45-1.75 (13.76m). In the high jump, Gooris cleared 6-04.00 (1.93m). He recorded a time of 50.27 seconds in the 400m - the second-fastest 400m of his career - to close Wednesday's action.
"Daniel did a great job today," said Steele. "He's ahead of his first day at the Drake Relays where he set his personal best. We expect him to move up significantly tomorrow."
Gooris entered the meet with the 15th best decathlon score in the nation.
Competition at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Championships will continue over the next three days at Drake Stadium. Gooris will wrap up the decathlon with the final five events on Thursday, and he will be joined by senior Olimpia Nowak who gets underway in the heptathlon at 1 p.m.
Gooris will also compete in the pole vault on Friday afternoon. Senior Justin Romero will take part in the shot put on Saturday morning.
