University of Northern Iowa sixth year senior Carter Morton of Jefferson is in sixth place in the seven event heptathlon after the first day of competition at the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships. The first four events were on Friday inside the Tyson Event Center in Fayetteville, AK were the 60 meter dash, long jump, shot put, and high jump.

Morton wasn’t in the top 10 after three of the events, but a huge performance in the high jump carried him to first place in that event, 944 points and catapulted him into the top six. The 2020 Greene County High School graduate cleared the high jump bar at 7′ 1/2″ and he set a new personal best with that clearance, which was on his first try after getting over the bar at 6′ 11-1/2″ on the third and final attempt. Morton scored 858 points in the 60 meter dash, 871 in the long jump, and 665 in the shot put.

The final three events today in order are the 60 meter hurdles, pole vault, and 1,000 meter run. Action starts at 11 a.m. Central Time.

Morton is the son of Chad and Deb Morton of Jefferson. He placed fifth a year ago in the heptathlon and earned first team All-American honors. The top eight finishers are named to the first All-American team and the other finishers are second team All-Americans. Morton enters today 337 points behind the leader, but is very much in contention to repeat as a first team All-American.