NCAA Decathlon a stepping stone for the World Championships in July
Arkansas’ Ayden Owens Delerme equals the NCAA Championship meet record scoring 8457 points at Hayward Field. Photo by Logan Hannigan-Downs
By Cassie Cole
After two days of events, the men’s decathlon athletes have a lot to be thankful for. The NCAA Championship event concluded on Thursday night at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
Ayden Owens-Delerme of Arkansas placed first in the decathlon with a score of 8457 points, tying the meet record held by Olympic champion Ashton Eaton. For Owens-Delerme, tying Eaton’s record is a big deal.
“I’m in company of some of the greatest people who have ever come through the sport and so I’m honored to consider myself one of the best collegiate track athletes,” said Owens-Delerme.
Owens-Delerme is also the 2022 NCAA Indoor Champion for the heptathlon. After his indoor and outdoor title sweep, he’s ready for the World Championships in July. Owens-Delerme will be competing for Puerto Rico, where his family is from.
“[It’s] my first international, adult competition,” said Owens-Delerme on the World Championships. “I’m just honored to be able to represent my people and put my country on the map.”
Owens-Delerme was joined in the decathlon by Arkansas teammate and fellow junior Daniel Spejcher, who finished in seventh place with 7744 points.
“I certainly wouldn’t be here without him—he’s been the best training partner, best friend, best athlete—I love him to death,” Spejcher said about Owens-Delerme.
Spejcher had a difficult time with the high jump during Day One of the decathlon, placing last out of the athletes competing in the event. He felt that he had “a really good Day Two,” though. A third place finish in the pole vault and a personal best in the javelin helped Spejcher boost his points.
“This whole purpose of the dec is to come back; give it your all every single event, every day, every minute,” said Spejcher.
Georgia’s Kyle Garland knows a bit about giving it his all. The sophomore finished third on Thursday with 8333 points but holds a personal best of 8720 points from earlier this year. Garland will be representing Team USA at the World Championships this summer.
“My mind is already clear, having made the World Championship team, I was just looking to score that 83 number, so I’m excited that I was able to do that,” said Garland. “I'm just excited to still be able to finish this competition healthy and get another shot at Worlds.”
With a spot at Worlds secured, Garland’s focus on the NCAA Championships was to have fun.
“It was a great competition with these guys,” Garland said. “I was just out there having fun, I didn’t even really care about the competition that much.”
Garland, who had strong performances during Wednesday’s decathlon events, felt that he threw a “mediocre disc” during the discus competition Thursday afternoon. He didn’t let a lower score stop him from enjoying the event, however.
“I knew the discus wasn’t the best but I just couldn’t let myself get out of the competition,” said Garland. “The biggest thing for me was not giving up.”
After an eventful two days, the men’s decathlon will give way to the women’s heptathlon that starts on Day Three of the NCAA Championships. In the meantime, it’s clear that the men have a lot to be grateful for and a lot to look forward to in the coming months.