RANDALLS ISLAND, New York, July 23–26 — Our coverage of the USA Outdoor Championships is divided into 5 parts: men’s track & field and women’s track & field, plus multis. Event reports will be added as the meet goes along.
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Decathlon — Scantling Returns To Top In Dogfight
5 FORMER NATIONAL CHAMPIONS started, but two of them — Kyle Garland and Garrett Scantling — grabbed most of the attention in what became a virtual head-to-head matchup of former Georgia Bulldogs.
Garland’s title came last year with a PR 8869, just 2 points better than Scantling’s best of 8867 in winning his second straight crown in ’22 before a 3-year USADA suspension for whereabouts and tampering violations.
Both were in their first decathlons of the year. They finished with the year’s top two U.S. totals. Here’s how things played out:
100: Hakim McMorris – the U.S. leader with his PR 8420 in winning the Mt. SAC Relays – took the initial lead after clocking the fastest time of 10.61 as Garland (10.71) and Scantling (10.87) followed. It was the only time McMorris would be in the lead, and Garland held a 35-point edge over Scantling for 2nd.
Long Jump: Scantling was tops at 24-10½ (7.58), his second-longest ever as Garland, a 26-footer, was next at 24-8½ (7.53) ahead of McMorris at 24-1 (7.34). Garland moved into the overall lead at 1868, 23 points up on Scantling and McMorris.
Shot: Scantling led for a second straight event, hitting 52-8¾ (16.07) to take the overall lead at 2701, 31 points up on Garland, who managed just 49-10½ (15.20).
High Jump: Garland was better than Scantling here, but his 6-9½ (2.07) was considerably lower than the 7-¼ (2.14) he cleared in March as part of his bronze medal-winning heptathlon at the World Indoor. Meanwhile, Scantling’s 6-8¾ (2.04) matched what he had cleared in his PR score. Scantling, 33, remained the overall leader — a 3-point margin being the slimmest of the competition.
400: Garland (48.50) ran faster than Scantling (49.09) to regain the lead by 25. McMorris was the field’s fastest by 1.48 at 46.43 to remain in 3rd, where he would eventually finish.
110 Hurdles: As headwinds prevailed, Scantling was the only one to run sub-14, and his 13.86 was the third-fastest of his career. He regained the lead by 36 points over Garland, who ran 14.33 (his slowest in a dec since ’21).
Discus: Garland regained the overall lead by 33 points, topping Scantling 162-9 (49.60) to 151-9 (46.27).
Pole Vault: Scantling took over the lead for good – 28 points up on Garland with a 16-4¾ (5.00) clearance to his rival’s 15-9 (4.80).
Javelin: Scantling increased his lead to 103 with his field-leading 205-0 (62.49) as Garland threw 188-6 (57.46).
1500: Scantling cruised 4:43.78 to close his 8526 U.S. leader, 95 points up on Garland (8431).
He was visibly emotional afterwards. “After what I’ve been through the last 3 years, after everything that’s happened to me, perseverance is the word I use the most.” /Howard Willman/
MEN’S DECATHLON RESULTS
(July 23–24)
1. Garrett Scantling (unat) 8526
(10.87, 7.58/24-10½, 16.07/52-8¾, 2.04/6-8¼, 49.09 [4308–2], 13.86, 46.27/151-9, 5.00/16-4¾, 62.49/205-0, 4:43.78 [4218]);
2. Kyle Garland (NikeNYAC) 8431
(10.71, 7.53/24-8½ 15.20/52-8¾, 2.07/6-9½ 48.50 [4423–4], 14.33, 49.60/162-9, 4.80/15-9, 57.46/188-6, 4:42.43 [4008]);
3. Hakim McMorris (VSA) 8312
(10.61, 7.34/24-1, 14.62/47-11¾, 1.92/6-3½, 46.43 [4329–3], 14.25, 44.58/146-3, 5.10/16-8¾, 50.61/166-0, 4:30.04 [3983]);
4. Marcus Weaver (unat) 7770; 5. John Swabik (Ks) 7606; 6. Josh Mooney (Ct) 7495; 7. Nick Bianco (unat) 7369; 8. Michael Bennett (Duke) 7309; 9. Drew Thompson (unat) 7081; 10. Carter Morton (NnIa) 6878; 11. Devon Williams (NikeUSAr) 6585;… dnf—Heath Baldwin (Nike), Ryan Gregory (CSLB), Zach Ziemek (unat).
Heptathlon — Marsh Takes Home First Title
WITH 4-TIME reigning champ Anna Hall bypassing a chance to extend her record title streak to 5, someone was destined to win a first-ever USATF heptathlon.
The favorite’s role fell to 27-year-old Erin Marsh — who entered as the U.S. leader after her 6305 in late-June in Germany. She nearly had a wire-to-wire victory, but it got close at the end over fellow 6300 scorer Timara Chapman (6339 in ’24).
Here’s a look event-by-event.
100 Hurdles: Marsh took a commanding lead in running 12.92, her third-fastest of the year (and career). She was 47 points up on her nearest competitor, Arizona senior Hollan Powers, who ran a near-PR 13.24.
High Jump: Powers took the lead with a clearance of 5-7¼ (1.71) as Marsh — who went over 5-7¾ (1.72) in Ratingen — managed only 5-5 (1.65). Powers led by 25 points (1956–1931). Chapman — who owned the only U.S. title in the field (’25 indoor pentathlon) – was among a trio to lead the event at 5-8½ (1.74) in moving into 3rd overall (1907).
Shot: Marsh moved back into the lead with a solid 45-7¾ (13.91). That was the fourth-best of her career and put her 50 points up on Powers after Powers PRed at 41-11½ (12.79). Chapman with 42-9½ (13.04) was another 32 back.
200: Marsh was the only one to run sub-24 at 23.77, increasing her lead to the largest of the meet at 89 points over Powers, who ran 24.17 — down from the 23.77 PR in her surprise 6008 at the NCAA.
Long Jump: Strong headwinds held down most — including Marsh, who had her lowest meet of the year at 19-0 (5.79) with a –2.3mps reading. Still, her lead decreased by only 15 points to 74 over Powers.
Javelin: Chapman made up major ground after being down by 147 after Day 1 and 144 after the long jump. She threw 139-5 (42.50), her best since ’24, to move into 2nd, 34 points behind Marsh. Marsh threw 120-6 (36.73).
800: Marsh’s 34-point lead translated to about 2.4 seconds in the 800, where Chapman’s PR was only 0.18 seconds faster (2:12.63 to 2:12.81). Both followed Powers’ strong opening lap (63.60) and were rewarded with new bests. Marsh (2:11.27) extended her final margin to 38 points (6059–6021) over Chapman (2:11.58). The winning score was the meet’s lowest since Sharon Day won in ’11 with 6058. /Howard Willman/
WOMEN’S HEPTATHLON RESULTS
(July 23–24)
1. Erin Marsh (VS Athletics) 6059
(12.92, 5-5/1.65, 45-7¾/13.91, 23.77 [3722–1], 19-0/5.79, 120-6/36.73, 2:11.27 [2337]);
2. Timara Chapman (unat) 6021
(13.82, 5-8½/1.74, 42-9½/13.04, 24.45 [35.75–3], 19-½/5.80, 139-5/42.50, 2:11.58);
3. Lauren Taubert (US) 5971
(13.63, 5-6/1.68, 43-½/13.12, 24.35 [3543–8], 19-8¼/6.00, 129-3/39.40, 2:12.97)
4. Hollan Powers (unat) 5885; 5. Lexie Keller (VSA) 5854; 6. Maddie Pitts (PennSt) 5774; 7. Allie Jones (unat) 5745; 8. Blakelee Winn (PittSt) 5724; 9. Katie Eidem (unat) 5720; 10. Melanie Winters (unat) 5712; 11. Joey Perry (NnIa) 5567; 12. Katy Stephens (NnIa) 5551; 13. Jalen Elrod (unat) 5121;… dnf—Shaina Burns (unat), Avery Roads (VSA).
