Huffman Vaults to U.S. Record

For Scott Huffman, it was a new record. For Jackie Joyner-Kersee, it was an old story.

Huffman set an American pole vault mark of 19 feet 7 inches Saturday in the USA-Mobil Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Knoxville, Tenn., breaking the record of 19-6 1/2 set by Joe Dial seven years ago to the day.

Huffman, the top-ranked pole vaulter in the United States last year, won his second consecutive national title with the vault, the best in the world this year.

Only two other vaulters--Sergei Bubka of Ukraine and Rodion Gataullin of Russia--have vaulted higher.

Joyner-Kersee, a dominant figure in international track, has become the most unbeatable national figure in the women’s long jump in nearly half a century.

Joyner-Kersee won that event for the fifth consecutive time Saturday. Five titles in a row are the most for a women’s long jumper in the national championships since Stella Walsh won eight in a row from 1939-46.

Walsh won 10 titles overall, Joyner-Kersee has six.

Joyner-Kersee won her sixth with a wind-aided leap of 23 feet 5 1/4 inches.

She set the American record of 24-7 last month at the New York Games.

Connie Price-Smith completed her third consecutive shotput-discus double, taking the shotput at 64-3 3/4, a meet record and the second-best ever by an American. Price-Smith won the discus at 195-1 Friday night.

Tennis

Meredith McGrath won the battle of unseeded Americans to take England’s Eastbourne grass-court championship with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Linda Harvey-Wild.

Patrick Rafter of Australia won his first ATP Tour title with a 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-4) victory over top-seeded Wayne Ferreira at England’s Manchester Open.

Top-seeded Thomas Muster of Austria, forced to play two matches because of an earlier rainout, won both and advanced to the final of an ATP tournament at St. Poelten, Austria, where he will face Tomas Carbonell of Spain.

Golf

Dave Stockton shot a three-under 69 in the second round of the $1-million BellSouth Senior Classic at Nashville, Tenn., to give him a two-day total of 131. That allowed Stockton to hold a one-stroke lead over Lee Trevino, who had a seven-under 65 in the second round.

Second-round leader Betsy King dropped back into a four-way tie after the third round of the LPGA Rochester (N.Y.) International. King shot even-par 72, allowing Patty Sheehan, Kristi Albers and Michele Redman to catch her at 10-under 206.

Auto Racing

Toyotas were swapping the lead midway through the Le Mans 24-Hour race in France, with a pair of Dauer-Porsches lurking nearby.

Steven Andskar of Sweden, Georges Fouche of South Africa and Lionel Rovert of France were handling the lead Toyota followed by the Toyota of Briton Eddie Irvine, Italian Mauro Martini and American Jeff Krosnoff.

Hut Stricklin escaped injury in a crash during the final practice for today’s Miller Genuine Draft 400 at Brooklyn, Mich.

Jurisprudence

Sentencing in Oregon has been rescheduled to July 13 for Jeff Gillooly, the former husband of figure skater Tonya Harding. Gillooly pleaded guilty to racketeering in the Jan. 6 attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.

The sentencing was rescheduled to follow a sentencing for Shawn Eckardt, a co-conspirator in the attack.

Documents ordered released by the Minnesota Supreme Court detail a woman’s allegation that former North Star Dan Quinn raped her in 1992.

The case, which also involved Mario Lemieux, led to Quinn’s release by the team, now the Dallas Stars. He played with the Ottawa Senators last season.

Quinn was arrested but never charged after the November 1992 incident at a Bloomington hotel where the Pittsburgh Penguins were staying. He maintained that intercourse with the then-19-year-old woman in Lemieux’s room was consensual.

Seattle Seahawk defensive lineman Tyrone Rodgers has been acquitted of charges he assaulted a man trying to repossess his Mercedes.

Swimming

In Monaco, Alexander Popov of Russia set a world record of 48.21 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle, breaking the six-year-old mark of 48.42 by American Matt Biondi.