Fox finishes fifth in heptathlon at Fighting Illini Challenge

CHAMPAIGN, Illinois — Little Rock senior Matthew Fox finished fifth in a field of 12 athletes Saturday in the men's heptathlon at the Fighting Illini Challenge, just eight points out of fourth place in his first heptathlon of the indoor season.
 
Fox had his best finish in the pole vault, where he finished fourth, and also came in fifth in the 60-meter hurdles, long jump, and 60 meters. With a seventh-place finish in the shot put and 1000 meters, plus ninth in the high jump, Fox finished with 5,261 total points.
 
Fox cleared 15-1.5 in the pole vault (4.61 meters) to set a new personal best in the event. His point total trailed only Logan Sandlin (5,269) and Andreas Hantson (5,531) of Purdue, unattached athlete Aiden Ouimet (5,935), and event winner Jip Degreef (6,046) of Illinois.
 
Little Rock will resume its team schedule later this week at the three-day Washburn Open, hosted by Washburn University (Ks.) on Jan. 30-Feb. 1.