Gophers senior Jess Lehman ran a career-best 14.22 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles and had a season-best throw of 44 feet, 0½ inches in the shot put and stood in 11th place after four events of the heptathlon Friday at the NCAA championships in Eugene, Ore.

Lehman has 3,435 points. The heptathlon concludes with long jump, javelin and the 800 meters on Saturday.

Gophers women teammates Heta Tuuri (high jump), Agnes Esser (discus) and Shanique Wright (triple jump) are also scheduled to compete Saturday.

Power to veto contracts remains on hold for regents

University of Minnesota Regents don't have the power to veto major coaching contracts just yet.

A proposal that would have required regents' approval for any non-faculty contract exceeding the university president's base salary (currently $610,000) got referred to another committee Friday.

The proposal originated in March over some regents' concerns with Gophers men's basketball coach Richard Pitino's contract, which includes a $7.1 million buyout. After discussion at the March and May regents meetings, the proposal passed the board's governance committee Thursday.

The proposal was up for a vote by the full board Friday. But Regent Patricia Simmons requested that the issue be tabled, so the faculty and student affairs committee could discuss the matter at its next meeting. The regents voted and agreed to refer it to that committee, which isn't scheduled to meet again until September.

JOE CHRISTENSEN