<athlon came to a close on a Friday, and the two remaining Carleton College athletes were both in position to vie for the top spot. First-year Jack Buckner (Seattle, Wash./Northwest) started the day in fifth place but used a strong showing to pull ahead for the victory with a total of 5,958 points. He becomes the first rookie to win the MIAC Decathlon since at least 1998.
Buckner finished the competition strong with top-5 finishes in each of the last four events. He placed second in the discus throw with a mark of 31.74 meters (104′ 1″). A solid pole vault mark of 3.72 meters (12′ 2.5″) put him in position to take a late lead. In the javelin, he outperformed the field with a throw of 52.26 meters, surpassing the second-best throw by more than five meters. Heading into the final event, Buckner had a solid lead and protected it with his time of 4:49.51 in the 1500-meter run, which was good enough to name him the champion of the 2015 MIAC Decathlon.
Carleton senior Evan McNeil (Burnsville, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) began the day in second place with 3,212 points. He won the pole vault with a mark of 4.32 meters (14′ 2″), earning him 708 points. However, in the 1500-meter run, he was disqualified for a running violation, leaving him with 0 points for the event. Despite the setback, he still managed to amass the sixth-most total points in the meet.
Bucker earns All-MIAC recognition, while McNeil receives All-MIAC honorable mention. Carleton’s Colby Seyferth (Banks, Ore./Banks) remained out of the competition due to an injury sustained early on day one.
Track and field fans may see some good multi-event battles in the future as underclassmen took home the top five spots in this year’s competition.
The Knights are scheduled to travel to Macalester Stadium in St. Paul for the MIAC Outdoor Championships May 8-9.