Lee Walburn of WSU stands third after day 1 of Texas Relays decathlon...
AUSTIN--Washington State's Lee Walburn (Paul Merca photo) stands third after the first day of competition at the Texas Relays decathlon at Mike A. Myers Track & Soccer Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas Wednesday with a first day score of 3930 points.
Walburn, a former NAIA decathlon champion at Carroll in Montana before transferring to WSU in 2023, started the day by running 11.02 in the 100, 1/100ths off his lifetime best.
He then set a personal best in the long jump, leaping 22-1 (6.73m) on his third and final attempt, then threw the shot 46-11 (14.30m).
In the high jump, he cleared 6-4 (1.93m), then finished the day by running 49.52, just off of his personal best of 49.48.
Reigning NCAA decathlon champion Leo Neugebauer of host Texas leads at the break with a five-event total of 4620 points.
The decathlon resumes Thursday starting at 8 am Pacific time with the 110 hurdles.
Also on Thursday, the group from Central Washington will start competing, led by hurdlers Josh Boast and Aiden Wise, and javelin thrower Branden Wise on the men's side, and hurdler Zoe McDevitt on the women's side.
In addition to the group from Central Washington competing at the Texas Relays, the University of Washington will send a small contingent to Austin.
Twins Hana and Amanda Moll, along with NCAA scorer Sara Borton will comprise the group headed to Texas to compete in the university elite pole vault section on Saturday.
PRO NOTES...
According to a social media post, former Seattle Pacific and recent Oregon State alum Kaylee Mitchell has signed a contract with Nike and will train in Eugene as part of the Bowerman Track Club.
She will be represented by Total Athletics and agent Stephen Haas.
One item we missed over the weekend was the Australian 3000m championships, contested at the Sydney Track Classic on Saturday the 23rd.
In the men's race, Washington alum Ed Trippas finished third in a personal best of 7:48.80. In the women's race, UW alum Izzi Batt-Doyle dropped down in distance and ran a personal best 8:47.99.
Trippas' previous best was 7:55.23 set in 2022 in Boston, while Batt-Doyle's previous was 8:51.82 set in 2021.
NOTE: Athletics Australia and the sports information office of Central Washington University, Washington State University, University of Texas, and the University of Washington contributed to this report.
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