NCAA decathlon lead held by Ayden Owens-Delerme after first day

EUGENE, Oregon – The first day of the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field ended with Razorback Ayden Owens-Delerme leading the decathlon with a career best score of 4,490 points.

In the fifth event Owens-Delerme capped the day with a collegiate all-time best in the decathlon 400m as his time of 46.10 seconds earned him 1,003 points.

“It always feels good to get a PR,” stated Owens-Delerme. “I came in here and ran a good 100m and checked it off. Then I had another NCAA best in the 400m. We’ve got more to come tomorrow.”

Currently in second and third place are Georgia’s Kyle Garland (4,441) and Leo Neugebauer of Texas (4,435). Each led the field of 24 decathletes after various disciplines among the first five events contested.

Owens-Delerme and Garland, who each broke the collegiate decathlon record this season, are on course to break the NCAA meet record of 8,457 points set by Oregon’s Ashton Eaton in 2010.

“First off, I need to give a lot of credit to the people I’m competing against,” said Owens-Delerme. “As decathletes we get after it and to be in competition with some of these great decathletes is a blessing.”

Owens-Delerme produced the initial lead with a 10.41 in the 100m for 996 points. Then Garland moved into first place after the long jump, three points ahead of Owens-Delerme. Following the shot put, it was Neugebauer’s time to top the field with an eight-point edge on Garland, and 27 ahead of Owens-Delerme.

While Owens had an issue with tightness in his left leg during the high jump, he recovered to set a personal best of 6-7 (2.01) for 813 points. It kept him in third place with the 400m remaining. Neugebauer led at that stage by eight points over Garland and 82 over Owens-Delerme.

At 6-2.25 (1.89), Owens-Delerme needed three attempts to get over the bar to collect 705 points. He passed 6-3.5 (1.92) and made third attempt clearances at 6-6 (1.98) and 6-7 to pick up an additional 108 points. He retired from the event with the bar at 6-8.25 (2.04).

“I’m feeling a little tightness in my left leg, which is my jump leg, and it was limiting my range early on,” noted Owens-Delerme. “It got better as I warmed up and attempted higher bars. I thought I was going to go out at 1.89 (6-2.25), no joke. I would have been in a different spot in the overall standings had that happened. I pushed through.”

Running in the final of three heats, Owens-Delerme collected 1,003 points for his career best of 46.10 to reclaim the overall lead. Garland trails by 49 while Neugebauer is 55 points behind in third place.

The next best 400m times among the field were a 46.77 by UTA’s Lucas Van Klaveren and a 44.90 by Iowa’s Austin West.

“I’m the strongest man in the NCAA in the decathlon 400m,” said Owens-Delerme. “So, when I go into it, I’m fully confident. If I’m tired, we’re all tired. We toe the line and do our best. Today I executed what I needed to do for a PR. Forty-five seconds has been elusive, hopefully I’ll get it soon. It feels good to go 46.10.”

Daniel Spejcher is currently in 15^th place with 3,910 points. He started off with an 11.09 in the 100m (841), went 22-10.75 in the long jump (809), hit a mark of 48-2.75 in the shot put (771), cleared 6-0 in the high jump (653), and closed with a 49.53 in the 400 (836).

In between the two running events, Owens-Delerme’s marks included a 23-11 long jump (883) and a 49-6.25 shot put (795) prior to the high jump.

Two finals involving Arkansas on Wednesday were the 10,000m and long jump.

Amon Kemboi placed 10^th in the 10k with a time of 28:21.64 while Patrick Kiprop finished 14^th in 28:26.25. Dylan Jacobs of Notre Dame won the race in 28:12.32 with Oklahoma State’s Alex Maier runner-up in 28:12.68.

After a pair of fouls in the long jump, Ryan Brown registered a mark of 22-3.75 (6.80) to finish 24^th.

Semifinals in the 110m hurdles left Tre’Bien Gilbert 0.01 from the last time qualifier to the final with a 13.55 that placed him fourth in his heat. Matthew Lewis-Banks posted a time of 14.09 to place eighth in his heat and 23td overall.

Arkansas finished fifth in the third section of the 4 x 400 relay with a time of 3:04.01 to place 14^th overall. Florida won the section in 3:01.30 to place third overall behind Texas (3:00.31) and Alabama (3:00.42), who were both in the first section.

The Razorback line-up included Connor Washington (45.9), Brandon Battle (45.8), James Milholen (45.79), and Jeremy Farr (46.53).

Decathlon | Day 1 Scoring Chart