NCAA track and field: Ben Barton 1st decathlon champion from BYU since 1981

PROVO — Ben Barton led the men's decathlon after the first day of the NCAA outdoor track and field championships.

But going into the final event, the senior from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, found himself trailing Louisville sophomore Kenneth Byrd by 50 points. Barton needed an extraordinary effort in the 1,500-meter final to clinch a decathlon championship for BYU for the first time in more than 40 years.

No sweat, right?

Barton had to beat Byrd by 7 seconds in the final event, and also stay within 13 seconds of Illinois freshman Luuk Pelkmans, who was about 200 points behind both. In one of Pelkman's strongest events, no less.

The BYU senior finished eighth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:32.61, nine seconds ahead of 13th-place Byrd and about 9 seconds behind fourth-place Pelkmans to collapse in a heap at the starting line of Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, as BYU's first national champion in the decathlon since Tito Stiener won his third title in 1981.

The victory marks back-to-back national championships in the decathlon for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mississippi State's Payton Bair won the title in 2025.

Barton secured the victory with a personal-best score of 8,169 points, the collegiate lead of the season and the second-highest score by a BYU decathlete in program history. He also owns the school record in the indoor heptathlon with 5,944 points from his second-place finish at the Big 12 championships.

"Coach Hogan put me in a really good spot to take the title today" Barton said. "I made a few mistakes in some areas but was able to make up for it in others and ultimately win it."

Mistakes or not, the finish was worth the wait.

Barton started the second half of the decathlon Thursday with 14.20 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles for third overall. He added a 12th-place finish in the discus with a throw of 42.15 meters (138-3), but slipped in the pole vault clearing a height of 4.31 meters (14-1 3/4) for 16th while Byrd cleared 5.41 meters (159-1) to win the event.

Barton rebounded with a 55.15-meter (180-11) throw in the javelin. But he still found himself trailing Byrd — setting up, in many ways, a winner-take-all 1,500-meter finale.

Expected or not, Barton wasn't the only BYU athlete projected to contend for hardware on Thursday, the second day of the NCAA championships.

The Cougars' record-setting freshman Jane Hedengren and teammate Jenna Hutchins were both running in the 10,000-meter finals as medal contenders — or possibly more in Hedengren's case after the Timpview High alum set the collegiate record in 30:46.80 back in April.

Iowa State's own star freshman Mercyline Kirwa put on a show of her own, though.

Hedengren hung near the front of the pack for the first half of the race, then pulled in front about 15 minutes in.

New Mexico's Pamela Kosgei tried to pull in front with two laps to go, and did it again leaning into the final turn. But Kirwa came off Hedegren's back shoulder before the final straightaway and slingshot her way to her first national title and leave Hedegren in bronze position in 31:54.88.

Hedegren finished third in 31:57.94, more than a second behind Kosgei.

Hutchins, for her part, finished eighth in 32:16.16 — her best finish since placing sixth in 32:44.05 at the outdoor championships in 2024.

BYU senior Carlee Hansen-Thompson pulled into the finals of the 1,500 meters with a fifth-place time of 4:07.08 in the faster of the two heats. Teammate Carmen Alder also advanced to Saturday's finals with a 12th-place time of 4:09.88.

Taylor Lovell advanced to the finals of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, cruising in with a time of 9:39.96 for fourth in her heat and fourth overall. Teammate Raygan Dimond clinched the final spot in the final with a 12th-place time of 9:45.81 in the first semifinal heat.

Utah's Mackenzie Rogers finished 15th in 9:48.34, and teammate Chelsea Amoah was 21st in the 200 meters in 23.26 seconds.

Paje Rasmussen added a time of 23.13 seconds to tie for 19th in the 200-meter semifinals. The BYU senior from Draper also finished 21st in the 100-meter semifinals in 11.27 seconds.

Krystie Solomon failed to advance out of the 800-meter semifinals, finishing 14th in 2:01.40. BYU teammate Tessa Buswell added a 21st-place time of 2:03.36.

Next at the NCAA track and field championships in Eugene

Men's competition will wrap up Friday, including Carter Cutting looking to add to his indoor mile national title in the 1,500-meter final for BYU. Tayvon Kitchen and Isaac Hedengren will also compete in the 5,000-meter finale, with both championships airing live on ESPN2.

BYU's Zoey Bonds will open the women's heptathlon Friday at 12:45 p.m. MDT with the 100-meter hurdles. The senior from Las Vegas will also compete in the high jump, shot put and 200 meters before finishing Saturday.

Saturday's women's final will include Hedengren racing for the 5,000-meter title at 7:55 p.m. MDT.

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