Arkansas signs World U20 decathlon champion, two-time Oklahoma high jump champion

FAYETTEVILLE – Recent signings with the Arkansas Razorbacks for the 2023-24 season include Gabriel Emmanuel, the 2022 World U20 Champion in the decathlon, and Andrew Hughes, a two-time Oklahoma high jump state champion.

These pair of signings join the previous one Arkansas received from John Scott Kendricks, a State champion pole vaulter from Oxford, Mississippi, who set a career best of 16-9.5 in winning the 2022 adidas Outdoor Nationals.

Emmanuel, who competes with club team Haag Athletiek in Den Haag, Netherlands, scored a career best of 7,860 points in claiming the World U20 decathlon title in Cali, Colombia, this past August, producing the top mark of the year on the U20 world list just 10 days before his 19th birthday.

On the Dutch U20 all-time list, Emmanuel ranks third with his 7,860 tally trialing the national record of 8,116 by Sven Roosen from 2020 and a 7,953 by Pieter Braun from 2012.

Hughes, of Ada, Oklahoma, cleared a career best of 7-0 to defend his Oklahoma 5A State Championships as a junior. That mark ranks equal to No. 9 on the 2022 national high school list, third among juniors. As a sophomore, Hughes cleared a then best of 6-8 to claim the 5A State title.

Summer competition for Hughes included placing fifth at the 2022 AAU Junior Olympics with a 6-6.75 clearance. He won the Region 16 AAU Qualifier with a 6-8 effort.

Emmanuel is the third 2022 World U20 Champion to join the Razorbacks. Current Arkansas freshmen include Jaydon Hibbert of Jamaica and Grant Williams of the United States.

Hibbert broke the championship record in the triple jump (56-8 | 17.27) in securing the gold medal with a two-foot improvement to his career best while Williams competed in the prelims of the 4 x 400 relay where the USA claimed gold in the final.

In winning the World U20 decathlon title, Emmanuel’s marks included the following: 10.68 (100), 23-11.5 | 7.30 (long jump), 49-6.25 | 15.09 (shot put), 6-7.5 | 2.02 (high jump), 49.46 (400) [first day score – 4276], 13.83 (110H), 155-8 | 47.46 (discus), 12-1.5 | 3.70 (pole vault), 180-1 | 54.89 (javelin), and 4:57.72 (1,500m) [second day score – 3,584].

Finishing behind Emmanuel in the competition were the Swedish pair of Jacob Thelander with 7,770 points and Elliot Duvert with 7,622 points.

Indoors, Emmanuel scored a career best of 5,686 points in the heptathlon to win the Netherlands U20 title. Previous best scores in the multi-events for Emmanuel included 7,405 in the decathlon from 2020 along with 5,063 in the heptathlon from 2019.