U.S. Olympic Festival Roundup : Lenzi Also Completes 4 1/2 Off Platform

Mark Lenzi, who with a shaky effort Thursday became the first American to complete the 4 1/2 somersault tuck dive from the 3-meter springboard, became the first to do the 4 1/2 from the 10-meter platform Friday.

And the high dive was much better.

Lenzi, 21, of Fredericksburg, Va., received scores of 6 1/2, 6 1/2, 6, 6 and 7 of a possible 10 from the platform.

While Lenzi was working on his new dive, Scott Donie of Houston won the preliminary round with 592.35 points.

The men’s competition was delayed two hours 15 minutes by a thunderstorm that held up all outdoor events as the festival headed into its final weekend.

After the rain stopped, Connie Price and Yolanda Henry broke meet records in track and field. Price, 27, who competed in the shotput and discus at last year’s Seoul Olympics, threw the shot 59 feet 10 1/2 inches on her second attempt. The mark was three feet short of her personal best but still was her top effort of the year and surpassed the Olympic Festival record of 59-6 3/4 set by Bonnie Dasse in 1986.

Henry, 24, of Houston, cleared 6-3 1/2 in the high jump, breaking the record of 6-3 1/4 set by Pam Spencer in 1981 and equaled by Judy Clough in ’85 and Colleen Sommer in ’87.

Nat Page, who made the U.S. Olympic team in the high jump nine years ago and won a festival gold medal in that event in 1979, continued his unlikely but successful transition to the 400-meter hurdles, winning in a personal-best 49.0 seconds.

In hockey, the West team clinched a spot in the gold-medal final with a 7-5 victory over the East, and the South reached the final with a 4-4 tie of the North.

Margaret Ulett, a 14-year-old gymnast from Lees Summit, Mo., was injured and carried off on a stretcher during the floor exercise routine and was taken to a hospital for X-rays and evaluation.

Michele Smith of Plainfield, N.J., pitched a one-hitter in fast-pitch softball, leading the West over the North, 5-0, for the bronze medal. The gold went to the East in a late night 1-0 victory over the South.