Former Utah State track and field All-American Chari Hawkins finished the heptathlon in fourth place with 5,707 points as she represented the United States at the World University Games (WUG) in Gwangju, South Korea.
The final three events of the heptathlon took place Saturday, beginning with the long jump as the native of Rexburg, Idaho, finished sixth overall with a leap of 5.74m to earn 771 points. Hawkins then placed third overall in the javelin with a mark of 42.25 to earn 711 points.
Hawkins closed the heptathlon by recording a time of 2:23.43 in the 800m to earn 778 points.
Germany’s Anna Stephanie Maiwald took home the gold in the heptathlon with 5,965 points, while Norway’s Ida Marcussen won the silver medal with 5,865 points. Russia’s Anna Petrich captured the bronze medal with a personal-best score of 5,795 points.
Hawkins, who just concluded her Utah State career by earning second-team All-America honors in the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Finals in June, opened the WUG on Friday by winning her heat in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.59 seconds to earn 1,037 points. She then took third in her heat in the high jump with a mark of 1.74m to earn 903 points.
Hawkins’ third event of the heptathlon was the shot put, where she placed ninth overall with a mark of 11.47m to earn 626 points. The five-time All-American capped the first day of the event by placing third in her heat in the 200m with a time of 25.06 to earn 881 points.
Utah State senior Cole Lambourne is also competing for the United States at the WUG. The native of Riverton, Utah, advanced to the semifinals of the 400m earlier this week, but he did not reach the finals.
However, Lambourne can still help the U.S. earn a medal as he helped lead the 4x400m relay team into the finals of the event. Lambourne teamed up with Keyunta Hayes, Joe Herrera and Ronald Baker to record a time of 3:08.67 in Saturday’s semifinals. The finals of the event take place Sunday.