May 5, 2013
LOS ANGELES - Washington State track and field decathlete Spencer Wordell scored a lifetime-best total of 7,278 points for sixth place Sunday at the Pac-12 Combined Events Championships at Cromwell Field at Loker Stadium on the USC campus.
Wordell, a redshirt junior from Spokane, started the day in fifth place after tallying a first-day PR total of 3,710 points. Sunday he ran the 110m hurdles in a wind-aided time of 15.46 seconds, threw the discus 115-feet 9 inches (35.28m), cleared a height of 14-2 1/4 (4.30m) in the pole vault and threw the javelin a 10-feet improved PR distance of 187-0 (56.99m). Wordell ran the 1500m in a PR time of 4 minutes 20.38 seconds, eight seconds faster than his previous lifetime-best time.
Wordell's 7,278 total was just 21 points out of fifth place which went to USC's Viktor Fajoyomi with 7,299. Wordell's sixth place finish gave the WSU men's team three points in the team totals going into next weekend and his 7,278 points is the 10th-best decathlon total in WSU's all-time records.
"Spencer's hurdle race was solid but not great and after disappointing finishes in the discus and pole vault he came back with a lights-out javelin PR throw and a gutsy PR run in the 1500m," Cougar Head Coach and multis coach Rick Sloan said. "The last two events today were the best for Spencer."
After the decathlon completion Wordell said, "Most of the running events went really well for me. The 100m wasn't a legal PR but it was a solid run. The 48.84 in the 400m was a pretty big PR and I was really pleased with that. The high jump went better than it has been going and a solid event. The hurdles were solid but not as fast as I can be and the shot and discus were okay. The big ones today were the javelin and the 1500m with big PRs in each of those two events. My fitness level in general is good and we have been doing a lot of negative split training which has had a huge impact on my performances and finishes in the 400m and the 1500m; even though I was tired I was able to bring it in strong."
WSU fifth-year senior Sean Harris (Kent, Wash.) had to withdraw because of a leg injury suffered in Saturday's competition.
Dakotah Keys of Oregon won the decathlon with 8,001 points after edging out Washington's Jeremy Taiwo who finished with 7,998 points.
Wordell will be competing again next weekend in the intermediate hurdles, as the individual and relays portion of the Pac-12 Track & Field Championships will be held May 11 and 12 at USC.