WITH 3 AMERICANS already holding WC standards, one wondered how much effort would that trio exert.
For Harrison Williams, it was plenty as he improved his lifetime best by 138 points in winning his first U.S. title. Zach Ziemek (8508) was next, but Kyle Garland — who scored 8720 in winning last year’s crown — was just 4th.
Surprising Austin West of Iowa came closest to adding his name above the 8460 WC standard, PRing by 152 points for 8331 in finishing 3rd.
Here’s how it went down.
100 Meters: The tone was set early as West ran a PR 10.52. Williams (10.65) and Ziemek (10.75) were sharp compared to their bests, but Garland’s 10.72 — he ran two sub-10.60s in the spring — was concerning. Olympian Steven Bastien, who owned the fastest PR coming in at 10.52, was also significantly down with a 10.81.
Long Jump: No one PRed as swirling winds produced readings ranging from +2.1 to –1.1. Ziemek led the way at 24-7¾ (7.51), just ahead of Williams (24-6½/7.48). Both were reasonably close to their bests. Garland lost more ground to his 8720 PR, leaping 23-8 (7.21). West was an eye-opening 2 points behind Williams overall.
Shot: TrackTown became PR Town as 8 set all-time bests, with Ziemek sailing all three of his efforts beyond his previous best — topped by a 51-7 (15.72) — to take the overall lead by 8 points over Williams. Garland did not PR but had the longest put at 52-10 (16.10).
High Jump: Garland was co-leader at 6-9¾ (2.08) and moved to 2nd, but projection-wise he was down to 3rd behind Ziemek (6-8¾/2.05) and Williams (6-6¼/1.99). West made up huge ground with three straight PRs (ultimately to 6-7½/2.02) and was 4th overall.
400 Meters: Day 1’s fifth event saw West register a fourth PR, clocking 46.31 to move into 2nd overall at 4430 behind Williams’ 4465 (46.35 PR). Williams would never relinquish the overall lead. Ziemek (49.63) and Garland (49.66) lost ground to their PR scores, but Ziemek stayed much closer in that regard with the Wisconsin grad challenging 8600 points while Garland was projecting at just over 8400.
110 Hurdles: West wasn’t the fastest but he notched his sixth PR of the meet at 14.22 to move into 2nd overall. No one else PRed as Williams remained at the top after a 14.22 run. Garland — whose PR is 13.34 — ran just 14.05 but overtook Ziemek for 3rd overall (5321–5262).
Discus: Ziemek moved from 4th to 2nd overall with a solid 161-6 (49.23) , ahead of Williams’ seasonal best of 155-1 (47.26). West dropped to 4th (2 points behind Garland) as his 4-event PR streak ended.
Pole Vault: The battle for 1st intensified as Williams’ gap over Ziemek closed from 108 to 76. Garland strengthened his 3rd-place lead over West (14-1¼/4.30) from 2 to 90, but his 15-1 (4.60) clearance was far down from his 16-5¼ (5.01) at the NCAA.
Javelin: Ziemek trimmed Williams’ lead further to 43 with his 201-0 (61.28) heave. However, Stanford grad Williams’ 193-9 (59.07) effort was a 9-foot PR and essentially sealed victory barring a last-event catastrophe. West (195-8/59.65) cut Garland’s lead for 3rd from 90 to 74, even after the latter threw a seasonal-best 192-3 (58.61).
1500: Joe Delgado — a Louisville grad who started collegiately at Oregon — stirred things up with a 63.90 opening lap. West took over by lap 3 and won in 4:20.98 for yet another event PR en route to an overall 152-point PR of 8331. That moved him up to 3rd. Williams led the rest of the pack at 4:35.30 in raising his PR by score 138 to become No. 13 American all-time. Ziemek was 2nd with 8508, third-best in his career. Garland was 4th with 8198.
MEN’S DECATHLON RESULTS
(July 06–07)
1. Harrison Williams (unat) 8630 PR (=AL) (13, x A)
(10.65, 24-6½/7.48, 50-3½/15.33, 6-6¼/1.99, 46.35 [4465],14.22, 155-1/47.26, 17-¾/5.20, 193-9/59.07, 4:35.30 [4165]);
2. Zach Ziemek (unat) 8508
(10.75, 24-7¾/7.51, 51-7/15.72, 6-8¾/2.05, 49.63 [4370],14.65, 161-6/49.23, 17-4½/5.30, 201-0/61.28, 4:48.04 [4138]);
3. Austin West (Ia) 8331 PR
(10.52, 24-1½/7.35, 46-11½/14.31, 6-7½/2.02, 46.31 [4430],14.22, 139-3/42.45, 14-1¼/4.30, 195-8/59.65, 4:20.98 [3901]);
4. Kyle Garland (Ga) 8198
(10.72, 23-8/7.21, 52-10/16.10, 6-9¾/2.08, 49.66 [4353],14.05, 148-4/45.23, 15-1/4.60, 192-3/58.61, 4:53.38 [3845]);
5. Devon Williams (JAC) 8026
(10.80, 23-10¼/7.27w, 48-4¾/14.75, 6-4/1.93, 48.69 [4174],13.91, 148-3/45.18, 14-9/4.50, 179-9/54.79, 4:40.88 [3852]);
6. Heath Baldwin (MiSt) 8024
(11.09, 22-8½/6.92, 50-0/15.24, 6-7½/2.02, 50.22 [4066],14.21, 140-0/42.67, 15-1/4.60, 214-4/65.32, 4:39.55 [3958]);
7. Joe Delgado (JAC) 7994
(10.73, 23-4/7.11, 49-3¾/15.03, 6-4/1.93, 48.79 [4165],14.91, 143-1/43.61, 15-1/4.60, 182-0/55.49, 4:26.03 [3829]);
8. Samuel Black (GarS) 7946 PR
(10.77, 23-3¼/7.09w, 49-¾/14.95, 6-9¾/2.08, 49.41 [4254],14.52, 136-3/41.54, 14-1¼/4.30, 188-10/57.57, 4:39.30 [3692]);
9. Denim Rogers (unat) 7919 PR; 10. Ryan Talbot (MiSt) 7532; 11. Daniel Spejcher (Ar) 7467; 12. Jack Flood (unat) 7107;… dnf—Steven Bastien (TS), Grant Levesque (Rice), Mason Mahacek (Mi), Hunter Price (TS).