Felix crowned NCAA champion in decathlon
DES MOINES, Iowa – Boise State’s Kurt Felix was the crowned NCAA National Champion in the decathlon on Thursday (June 7) scoring a school record 8,062-points at the 2012 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships held at Drake University. Felix won the 10-event competition by a comfortable 106-point margin, becoming the first Bronco to ever win an NCAA title or become an All-American in the decathlon.
Felix joins the elite club including Eugene Greene (triple jump – 1991), Jake Jacoby (high jump – 1984) and Gabe Wallin (javelin – 2004, 2005) as the only men’s track and field NCAA Champions at Boise State.
His crown came much in part from career-best performances in the discus and pole vault and a javelin win on day two. He collected four career-bests (100m, 400m, discus, pole vault) and two event wins (long jump, javelin) throughout the two-day, 10-event competition.
The redshirt senior began his day with the 110-meter hurdles, running a personally mediocre time of 15.01-seconds. He placed third in his heat and 11th overall in the hurdles earning 848-points and fell to second overall in the 10-event standings. Arkansas’ Gunnar Nixon moved into first, leading Felix by 52-points.
Felix fought back for the lead, recording a personal record in the discus in the process. The St. David’s, Grenada, native threw 136′-2″ (41.51m) to place sixth in the event, collecting another 695-points. An ever-changing battle for the lead, Felix regained the top spot while Nixon fell to third overall. Nebraska’s Bjorn Barrefors worked his way into the second-place spot, just 44-points behind Felix.
Moving to the pole vault, Felix had to have a solid performance to retain a chance at the title in an event he’s not strong in. Felix pulled out a championship meet performance, earning two personal best heights in his outdoor career. He cleared 15′-1″ (4.60m) to place 14th in the event and earned 790-points. With stronger competitors in the event, it was no surprise Felix fell to third overall, however he sat only 72-points behind leader Gonzalo Barroilhet of Florida State. Barrefors retained the second-place spot sitting only 26-points ahead of Felix.
Rebounding from a weaker event for Felix, the decathlon moved on to his strongest event, the javelin. There he overtook the event lead on his second throw and improved his third throw to 227′-6″ (69.36m) earning him 880-points. The javelin win launched him back to the top spot in the decathlon standings, sitting 147-points ahead of Barroilhet heading into the final event.
In the 1500-meters, Felix ran a strong race, clocking a time of 4:42.93 to place 17th. His effort earned him 662-points which was enough for him to retain the overall lead and earn the champion title.
Texas-Arlington’s Romain Martin ran a strong 1500-meter race to move him into second in the overall standings with 7,956-points. Arkansas’ Kevin Lazas also ran strong, bumping him to third-place and a 7,955-point total.
Felix earns his first outdoor First Team All-America honor with the win as well as his second score above the Olympic “B” standard this season.
He will continue his season at the 2012 Olympics in London, competing on Wednesday, August 8 and Thursday, August 9. He will represent his home country of Grenada.
Felix’s teammate Emma Bates will close the collegiate season for the Broncos on Saturday (June 9) at the NCAA National Championships. She will compete in the 5000-meters at 11:19 a.m. (MT).
