Despite having plenty of experience in the decathlon, two Oregon men competed for the first time in Oregon singlets at the Bryan Clay Invitational at Azusa Pacific University. Max Volmer, a freshman from Ulm, Germany, finished fifth in group four of the men’s decathlon.
Volmer finished fifth in the U20 Decathlon at the 2017 European Athletics Championships in Grosseto, Italy. Volmer posted 4,040 points after day one, putting him in fifth place. Volmer won the javelin throw at 192 feet, 1 inch. It wasn’t his best throw, but he got more lifetime bests in the 100m, (10.87), shot put (49’-2 ½) and high jump (6”-4”).
Dalen Hargett set five personal bests in the first group of the decathlon. The redshirt junior, a transfer from Montana State, posted a career best 6,583 points and finished third overall in his first event as a Duck. He won the pole vault, clearing 14’-1 ¼”, one foot over his previous record. His other personal records came in the 100 meters (11.23), shot put (43-4½), and high jump (20-10).
Cal’s standout freshman Hakim McMorris won the first group with 7,033 points, taking victories in the long jump and 110-meter hurdles.
Keira McCarrell also posted multiple personal records en route to a fifth place finish with 5,336 points in group four of the heptathlon. She posted five in total, and four through the first four events. McCarrell ran 14.48 in the 100-meter hurdles, and 25.10 for the 200 meters. She also jumped 5-5 ¾ for the long jump and threw 39-4 ½ in the shot put. Her score was No. 9 in program history.
The invitational is one of six meets Oregon will have athletes competing at throughout the weekend. Head coach Robert Johnson said the team was preparing for the kind of conditions it will face in the outdoor championships in Austin, Texas.
“The way our schedule is set up is to go to a lot of warm-weather places,” Johnson said. “If you look at the end of the season and work back, where do we end up? We’re in Texas for the national meet in June.”
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