EUGENE, Ore. – In one of the more remarkable performances in one of the most grueling competitions, senior
Lucas Van Klaveren capped his season with a fourth place finish in the decathlon while breaking the school record in the process.
Van Klaveren broke the 8,000-point mark for the first time in his career and finished with 8,015 points, two more than the previous school mark held by Romain Martin in 2013, which also came in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2013 where he finished sixth. It was also the 12th best decathlon performance in the history of Van Klaveren's home country of the Netherlands according to World Athletics.
On a day where the podium was certainly in reach, Van Klaveren kept climbing up the standings due to his unbelievable performances including three more PRs broken on the day.
Van Klaveren started the day with an impressive 14.38 in the 110-meter hurdles to place in fifth and followed with maybe his only subpar showing of the entire meeting, placing 17th in the discus at 37.82m (124-1).
Van Klaveren put the pedal on the gas in the pole vault as he cleared his first six jumps, beginning at 4.21m (13-9¾) and rolling all the way through 4.81m (15-9¼), smashing his PR of 4.60m in the process. Van Klaveren would not clear 4.91m, but his performance was good to place him in third.
He followed that with another PR in the javelin coming on his final throw, similar to yesterday in the high jump. Van Klaveren let loose a throw of 57.50 (188-8) to place sixth in the event and move squarely into fourth place with one event to go.
In the 1500 meter, Van Klaveren paced himself beautifully and turned it on in the final 800 meters, motoring past opponents and even leading during the final lap. He would settle for a third place finish and another PR at 4:24.22 to break the school mark and earn his spot in fourth.
Coming in seeded 16th and likely not expected to find a spot on the podium, all Van Klaveren could do is let out one emphatic roar to complete his historic competition.
With Van Klaveren's podium, along with
Arthur Petersen's podium a day ago, the Mavericks sit in 11th place in the team standings with eight points. It is the first the UTA men have scored points since 2015 and the first time two UTA athletes made podium since Clayton Vaughn doubled up in the 100 and 200 meters in 2014. It is believed to be the first time two separate individuals made podiums since the 1990s.
| Lucas Van Klaveren |
100m |
Long Jump |
Shot Put |
High Jump |
400m |
110 Hurdles |
Discus |
Pole Vault |
Javelin |
1500 meter |
| 8,015 pts (4th overall)** |
11.10 (15) |
7.21 (9)* |
13.60 (10) |
1.95 (12)* |
46.77 (2)* |
14.38 (5) |
37.82 (17) |
4.81 (3)* |
57.50 (6)* |
4:24.22 (3)* |
* - PR
** - School Record
On the track side, the 4x100 team of
Adeyemi Talabi,
Iyana Gray,
Tatyana Terrell, and
Vanessa Ugorji saw their season end in the semifinals despite an outstanding showing all season long. The Mavericks survives a chaotic heat that saw two DNFs and placed sixth in their head and 20th overall with a time of 44.92.
Gray went on to run in the 200 meter dash and placed 22nd in the event with a time of 23.57.
UTA returns to action tomorrow and Multi U returns to the stage with
Jade Bontke kicking off the pentathlon. Also on tap for the Mavericks is
Bryson DeBerry.
Gallery: (6-10-2022) Track & Field at NCAA Championships (Day 2)
2022 NCAA Outdoor Championships
Eugene, OR | Hayward Field
All times in Pacfic Time Zone
Wednesday, June 8
Thursday, June 9
Friday, June 10
Saturday, June 11
FOLLOW ALONG
Follow the UTA track and field and cross country teams on Twitter (@UTAMavsTFXC), Instagram (@UTAMavsTFXC) and Facebook (/UTAMavsTFXC).
