EUGENE, Ore. — BYU’s Ben Barton returned to the podium in the decathlon as the junior finished sixth at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Barton’s sixth-place finish is the highest by a Cougar in the decathlon since 2000 when Curtis Pugsley also finished sixth with 7,525 points.
The Bloomfield Hills, Mich. native improved on his eighth-place finish in 2023 as the junior concluded the 10 events with 7,777 points good enough for sixth place. He began the day running 14.22 in the 110-meter hurdles for 946 points moving him up to second in the standings behind Mississippi State’s Peyton Bair. He picked up 601 more points in the discus with a toss of 36.86m/120-11 followed by a clearance of 4.31m/14-1.75 in the pole vault for 705 more points.
The junior was seventh overall after nine events after throwing 51.79m/169-11 in the javelin for 615 points. He would move up one spot by running a personal best time of 4:33.76 in the 1,500-meters to secure First Team All-American honors in the decathlon for a second time.
Jaden Roskelley finished 19th in his first NCAA appearance as the sophomore scored 7,475 points. After running 15.97 in the 110m hurdles for 736 points, Roskelley had the second-best mark of any decathlete in the discus with a throw of 45.72m/150-0 adding 782 points to his total.
The junior cleared 4.31m/14-1.75 in the pole vault on his third attempt, close to four inches more than he had ever cleared during his collegiate career for 705 points. He would finish with the fifth-best mark in the javelin (56.11m/184-1) for 679 before concluding the competition running 5:08.60 in the 1,500m.
Up Next
The Cougars conclude the season on Friday, June 13 at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.