Ashton Eaton leads halfway through decathlon at Olympic trials EUGENE, Ore. - Ashton Eaton shrugged off the rain that intensified as the day wore on and played to his hometown crowd at Hayward Field on Friday by setting decathlon world records in his first two events, giving him a commanding lead halfway through the 10-sport competition at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. Eaton, 24, ran the 100-meter dash in 10.21 seconds and sailed 27 feet on his only long-jump attempt, the best marks ever recorded in a decathlon competition. He finished the first day with 4,728 points, 17 points ahead of the American-record pace set when Dan O'Brien finished with 8,891 points in 1992. The decathlon will conclude Saturday. The top three finishers will earn berths on the London Olympic team. Olympic gold medalist Bryan Clay of Glendora struggled in the later events, particularly in the 400-meter run, and stood third with 4,252 points. Trey Hardee is second with 4,406 points. What you witnessed, of course a great 100, great long jump, shot, high jump whatever...what you're seeing is basically the culmination of everyone that supported me and got me to this point and me fiercely trying to not let them down. Or myself," said Eaton, the defending U.S. champion. Clay did not pass through the media area after his performances. Hardee said he prepared himself for any possible scenario and was happy with his results. "Rehearsal helps you deal with adversity," he said. Nothing that ever happens in the decathlon is shocking. Merritt fastest in men's 400 LaShawn Merritt, the Beijing 400-meter and 1,600-meter relay gold medalist, had to change his path to avoid a fallen competitor on the slippery track during the preliminary round of the men's 400 but easily advanced by posting the top qualifying time, 45.36 seconds. Merritt, running in Lane 4, said he had to move "more toward the inside of my lane, where I should have been in the first place," when Tavaris Tate went down in Lane 5 about 150 meters into the race. "I saw him but I just had to continue to do what I do," Merritt said. He got out hard. I stayed within myself. I ran a great race. Given the conditions, Merritt said he just wanted to run as cleanly as possible and stay on his feet. Having practiced in the rain prepared him for the far-from-ideal conditions. You have to adapt to what the weather is, how the track is and know what you're doing before you get out there. Know the weather, the wind," he said. It's all about going in with a plan and sticking to it and executing. In the women's 400, favorite Sanya Richards-Ross had the third-best qualifying time, 51.69 seconds. Francena McCorory had the top time, 51.11 seconds, ahead of Dee Dee Trotter's 51.64. Richards-Ross, who has the world's best time in the 400 this year (49.39) said she was pleased with her first effort. "We don't even focus on times for the first one," she said. You just want to get a good lane for the semifinals. Felix wins 100 heat Allyson Felix of Los Angeles began her quest for a 100/200 sprint double by winning her heat of the 100 in 11.19 seconds. Long jumper-turned-sprinter Tianna Madison had the fastest qualifying time, 11.10....Four-time U.S. champion Nick Symmonds won his heat in the men's 800 in 1 minute 46.94 seconds, the third-fastest qualifying time. "I'd like to use each round to get a little sharper," he said. My strides felt really good. The women's pole vault was canceled because of bad weather. The whole field will go straight to Sunday's final.... Defending Olympic champion Stephanie Brown Trafton led all qualifiers in the women's discus with a top throw of 62.83 meters (206 feet, 1 inch) .... Galen Rupp won the men's 10,000 with a time of 27 minutes 25.33 seconds. Matt Tegenkamp (27:33.94) and Dathan Ritzenhein (27:36.09) were second and third. ... Mammoth Lakes-based Amy Hastings, who finished fourth at the marathon trials, won the women's 10,000 in 31:58.36.