Sacramento, Calif. – Texas senior Trey Hardee failed to defend his decathlon title at the NCAA track and field championships Thursday when he was unable to clear a height in the pole vault, one of his best events.
His stunning blunder cleared the way for Arizona junior Jake Arnold to win with 7,870 points. Chris Helwick of Tennessee, a former standout at Greeley Central High School, was second at 7,772. Colorado State’s Kevin Johnson placed 13th with 6,946 points.
Hardee stayed in the competition despite missing three times at 15 feet, 9 inches, and finished ninth at 7,263, one place shy of scoring a point for the Longhorns in the team race.
Victoria Jackson led a 1-4 finish for Arizona State in the women’s 10,000 meters with a personal-best 32 minutes, 54.72 seconds. Teammate Amy Hastings finished fourth, giving the Sun Devils 15 points and the early lead in the team race. Auburn was second with 14. Christine Bolf of Colorado finished 16th in 34:49.62.
The three-time defending champion Arkansas men got a boost with a 1-5 finish in the 10,000.
Josephat Boit won in 28:37.64. Teammate Marc Rodrigues was fifth. Colorado’s Bret Schoolmeester finished 14th with a time of 29:35.31.
Arkansas and Wisconsin were tied for the men’s team lead with 14 points. Nebraska and Arizona had 10 each.
In the women’s race, Texas remained the favorite despite some setbacks. Southern California and Auburn could contend, and Arizona State was aiming for a top-three finish.
Sarah Hopping of Stanford, a former standout at Longmont High School, qualified for the finals of the hammer throw, posting the second-best distance in her heat and third-best overall.
Hopping’s toss of 211 feet, 5 inches trailed only Eva Orban of Southern Cal (214-3) and Jenny Dahlgren of Georgia (213-5).
Jaimee Troth of Colorado State (189-11) did not qualify for the finals.
In the shot put, Sarah Stevens of Arizona State via Fort Collins High School advanced with a throw of 52-8. Carly Newlands of Colorado finished 13th in her heat and did not advance.
Akobundu Ikwaukor of Oregon via Pomona High School advanced to semifinals of the 400 hurdles with a time of 50.77 seconds, and was also part of the 4×400 relay team that qualified for the finals.
Colorado’s Stephen Pifer and Anthony Chiulli finished 11th and 12th in their 1,500 heats and failed to advance.
Elouise Rudy of Montana State and Kelley DiVesta of Washington, both Palmer High School graduates, were part of a nine-person tie for first place in their pole vault heat, advancing with vaults of 13-5 1/4.
Natalie Hughes of FSU via Palisade High School and Megan Kaltenbach of North Carolina via Smoky Hill High School qualified for the 1,500 finals.
