POCATELLO, Idaho — Merle Weber placed second in the pentathlon and all three Hornets are among the top eight in the heptathlon after the first day of the Big Sky Indoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday at Idaho State.
 
Weber scored a career-high 3,684 points to move into sixth place in school history. She finished 404 points off the winning total of Idaho's Hanna Tait and was just able to edge Montana's Brooke Stayner by seven points to claim second.
 
Weber was among the top five competitors in the first four events of the day, beginning with a 60-hurdles time of 8.96 which shattered her previous best of 9.20. She then cleared 5-02.50 in the high jump before a shot put of 37-01.00 and a long jump of 18-03.75. The long jump was a four-inch improvement off her previous best. Weber headed into the 800m in second place and ran 2:29.14 to score just enough points to maintain her position. The team was more than four seconds faster than any other race she has had at that distance this year.
 
Through the first four of seven events in the heptathlon, Brock Gross is in fourth place with 2,764 points. Cole Oliver is one spot back at 2,756 while Blake Gross is eighth  with 2,693. All three are chasing Weber State's Tyler Warnick and Montana State's Preston Wysocki who are in a close battle for the top spot. Warnick has 3,142 points while Wysocki is just 16 points back.
 
Brock Gross ran a career-best 7.00 in the 60-meters and stood in place after the first race. He dropped to fourth after a long jump of 21-08.75 and remained there through the final two meets with a shot put of 37-11.50 and clearing 5-08.50 in the high jump.
 
Oliver set career bests in two of the four events during the first day. The freshman took .05 seconds off his previous best in the 60 by running 7.36. After a long jump of 20-06.50, he recorded a distance of 38.09.00 in the shot put which was more than a two-foot PR. That performance was the fourth-longest in the field and moved him up three spots in the standings. Oliver closed the day by clearing 6-04.75 in the high jump to move from ninth to fifth place.
 
Blake Gross ran 7.08 in the 60 which placed him fourth in the field. He long jumped 21-04.75, had a shot put of 35-06.00 and cleared 5-09.75 in the high jump.
 
The heptathlon will conclude on Friday with the 60-hurdles, pole vault and 1,000m. The main program of the meet will also get under way during the day.