WITH FOUR AMERICANS having met the OG standard of 8460, attention focused on which three would get through to make the tough U.S. team.
An unfortunate injury to Kyle Garland prior to the vault made the group a trio with reigning U.S. champ Harrison Williams, 2-time Olympian Zach Ziemek and promising Heath Baldwin left to sort their order.
Here’s how it went down.
100 Meters: Ziemek led everyone at 10.46, lowering his PR by 0.09. Among the contenders, Garland was next with a solid 10.64, but Williams (10.74) and Baldwin (10.85) were down compared to their PR scores.
Long Jump: Ziemek’s lead grew from 12 to 43 points, even with an average-for-him 24-6¼ (7.47). He was 57 up on the nearest of the “Big 4,” Garland, with Williams and Baldwin 71 and 93 points back.
Shot: A PR by Ziemek at 51-11¼ (15.83) grew his lead to 51 points as Baldwin moved into the runner-up position with an even larger PR at 54-2½ (16.52) to lead all putters. Garland (50-3½/15.33) and Williams (48-7¼/14.81) were not near their PRs, and a separation from Ziemek/Baldwin to Garland/Williams appeared to develop among the Big 4.
High Jump: The big news here was the sub-par 6-1¼ (1.86) by Williams, who did 6-6¼/1.99 in his PR score to win last year. It now looked like Garland — co-leader with a solid 6-11¾ (2.13) — had the leg up on the apparent race for 3rd. Baldwin matched Garland at 6-11¾ (with no misses) while Ziemek was next with a good 6-10¾ (2.10) as his lead over Baldwin shrank to 22 points.
400 Meters: Baldwin took the overall lead at 4508 with his second PR of the meet, 48.58, as Ziemek was now the runner-up overall, 31 points behind after running a solid 49.72. Garland was in 3rd (-52 points) after a solid 48.91. Fastest in the field was Williams, but his 46.51 was still slower than the 46.35 from his winning score last year as he finished Day 1 in 7th, 230 points down. Baldwin was 39 points up on his 8470 PR pace and Ziemek was 8 points ahead of his 8676 PR, while Williams (-187 to his 8630) and Garland (-204 to his 8720) were both way down.
110 Hurdles: Baldwin increased his lead with a near-PR 13.77 to lead the field. Garland was just behind at 13.78 — down for him, but enough to move into 2nd, now 53 points behind. Ziemek was very subpar at 14.81 and dropped another place in the standings to 3rd. Williams moved up to 5th after a solid 13.94.
Discus: This was easy fodder for Baldwin, whose PR score included a standing effort after two fouls. He had no foul trouble here, launching 143-3 (43.67) — the second-farthest of his career as he was now 185 up on his 8470 PR. Garland crept ever closer with a solid 148-4 (45.23), now just 21 points back in the standings. Ziemek led the way at 163-7 (49.87), nearly gaining back all of the points he lost with a poor hurdles run. Williams threw just 147-8 (45.00) — he did 155-1/47.26 in his PR — but remained in 5th.
Pole Vault: Garland’s Paris dreams ended in warmups when he came down on one attempt and reportedly broke a foot. Ziemek was highest at 17-6½ (5.35) — he skipped the next bar but was unsuccessful at an =PR 18-2½/5.55 — to take back the overall lead. Despite an outdoor best 15-11 (4.85), Baldwin slipped to 2nd — 121 behind Ziemek — but was now +231 on his PR pace. Williams climbed second-highest at 16-6¾ (5.05) and moved to 3rds, perhaps gaining the most from Garland’s now being out.
Javelin: As expected, Baldwin was easily best here, throwing 218-9 (66.69) to regain the lead, even though that was significantly down from the PR 232-11/71.02 he had in his PR score. Ziemek threw 184-6 (56.24) and was 2nd overall, 37 points back. Williams PRed at 194-10 (59.39), strengthening his position in 3rd.
1500 Meters: The top-3 — and order — seemed certain with only the totals TBD. Michigan State senior Baldwin finished in 4:41.87 to wrap up his 8625 PR and become the first collegian to win a Trials decathlon since UCLA’s Rafer Johnson in 1956. Ziemek scored 8516, joining Tom Pappas (2000, ’04, ’08) as the only American decathlete to make a third Olympic team, and Williams made his first Olympic team with a total of 8384.
Said the winner, whose PR was 541 points lower last year at 8084, “I just have a great support group around me, from my strength coach, to friends and family and coaches. It really takes a group effort and I feel like this is a win for all of us.”
MEN’S DECATHLON RESULTS
(June 21–22)
1. Heath Baldwin (MiSt) 8625 PR
(10.85, 24-5¾/7.46, 54-2½/16.52, 6-11¾/2.13, 48.58, 13.77, 143-3/43.67, 15-1/4.85, 218-9/66.69, 4:41.87);
2. Zach Ziemek (unat) 8516
(10.46, 24-6¼/7.47, 51-11¼/15.83, 6-10¾/2.10, 49.72, 14.81, 163-7/49.87, 17-6½/5.35, 184-6/56.24, 4:53.65);
3. Harrison Williams (Nik/NYAC) 8384
(10.74, 24-5½/7.45, 48-7¼/14.81, 6-1¼/1.86, 46.56, 13.94, 147-8/45.00, 16-6¾/5.05, 194-10/59.39, 4:36.60);
4. Devon Williams (unat) 8211
(10.74, 24-9¾/7.56w, 48-3½/14.72, 6-4¾/1.95, 48.42, 13.93, 158-9/48.38, 14-1/4.55, 189-10/57.87, 4:49.68);
5. Jack Flood (unat) 8178 PR
(11.28, 23-2½/7.07w, 47-7/14.50, 6-10¾/2.10, 50.03, 14.16, 159-6/48.63, 15-7/4.75, 202-4/61.67, 4:38.79);
6. Austin West (Ia) 8018
(10.78, 24-¾/7.33, 49-6¼/15.09, 6-3½/1.92, 46.91, 14.59, 144-6/44.04, 13-11¼/4.25, 194-9/59.36, 4:42.83);
7. Sam Black (GarS) 7952 PR
(10.71, 23-7¼/7.19, 48-8/14.83, 6-9½/2.07, 48.78, 14.69, 137-4/41.86, 14-7¼/4.45, 175-6/53.50, 4:41.34);
8. Ryan Talbot (MiSt) 7872
(10.70, 21-4/6.50w, 46-6/14.17, 6-1¼/1.86, 47.21, 14.75, 161-2/49.13, 15-7/4.75, 173-10/52.99, 4:39.86);
9. Joe Delgado (JackAC) 7816
(10.83, 23-3¼/7.09, 6-3¾/1.92, 159-10¾/48.74, 15.07, 4.65, 175-6/53.51, 4:31.92);
10. Hunter Jones (PittSt) 7706; 11. Daniel Spejcher (Ar) 7654; 12. Peyton Bair (MsSt) 7592;13. Denim Rogers (unat) 7173; 14. Josh Farmer (UCI) 6711 15. Kyle Sieracki (IncW) 5884; 16. Lindon Victor’ (Grn–guest) 2616;… dnf—Kyle Garland (Nik/NYAC), Lee Walburn (WaSt), Aiden Ouimet (Il).