Sweet Home’s Casey Tow placed fourth out of 42 competitors in the Summit Decathlon-Heptathlon competition held March 29-30 in Bend.
Tow, a junior, was competing in his first decathlon event, which is composed of 10 track and field events including every aspect of the sport – sprints, hurdles, distance running, throws and jumps.
That was the highest finish by a Sweet Home athlete since current Head Coach Dakotah Keys won four straight in a row as a high school student. Keys went on to become a three-time All-American athlete at the University of Oregon in the event.
It was also the first time the Huskies have participated in the decathlon/heptathlon since 2015, when Egan Shamek and Garrison Whitfield competed.
Tow finished with 5252 points, behind winner Arthur Katahdin of Milwaukie, also a junior, who scored 5958 while competing unattached. Junior Simon Dexter of Churchill was second (5457) and senior Turner Nye of North Medford was third (5431).
“I expected to do a little bit better than I did,” Tow said. “It was a lot of fun. I almost qualified for nationals. That was kind of my goal.”
He said he had never seen a decathlon before competing in one, but “I knew the events. Coach Keys is a pretty good coach for it.”
It was his first time competing in the shot put and the pole vault , he said.
“The pole vault, I did better than I expected to. The discus and the long jump, I didn’t do as well as I hoped.”
Tow won the 400 in a personal-best 52.17 and was fourth in the javelin, which he has been a regular event for him over the last two years. “I was pretty happy with that 400,” he said.
Sweet Home senior Noah Dinsfriend was eighth, scoring 4861 in his first decathlon since he was a seventh-grader, when he scored 1800 points. He finished third in the 110 hurdles (16.29) and fourth in the 400 (54.01).
Sophomore Tristan Calkins was 11th (4703), just missing the top 10 by three points. He was third in the long jump, in a personal-best 20-6½, and was fifth in the 400 (54.16).
Senior Noah Moore, who usually specializes in throwing events, was 27th, scoring 3968 points in what was also his first decathlon. Moore was third in the javelin, in a personal-best 157-7¾, and fourth in the shot (39-9¼).
The Huskies will be back in action this Saturday, April 6, at the Junction City Invitational, which will feature many of the top 4A and smaller schools in the lower Willamette Valley.
Sweet Home Finishers’ Results (*personal best in event the athlete has competed in previously)
Casey Tow: 100 – 11.89* (12th); 400 – 52.17* (1st); 1500 – 5:01.67 (6th); 110 Hurdles – 17.59* (eighth); Shot Put – 33-0½ (18th); Discus – 91-3¾ (15th); Javelin – 141-6 (4th); High Jump – 5-7¾* (9th); Pole Vault – 8-11¾ (19th); Long Jump – 18-2½ (13th); Total 5252.
Noah Dinsfriend: 100 – 11.96* (15th); 400 – 54.01* (4th); 1500 – 5:17.26 (10th); 110 Hurdles – 16.29 (3rd); Shot Put – 33-0 (19th); Discus – 83-4 (18th); Javelin – 98-10½ (31st); High Jump – 5-3¾ (16th); Pole Vault 8-6 (23rd); Long Jump – 18-2½ (13th); Total 4861.
Tristan Calkins: 100 – 11.79* (9th); 400 – 54.16* (5th); 1500 – 6:09.08 (36th); 110 Hurdles – 19.28 (17th) ; Shot Put – 30-5¾ (27th); Discus – 92-2¾ (14th); Javelin – 133-2¾ (9th); High Jump – 5-3¾ (16th); Pole Vault – 8-11¾ (19th); High Jump – 5-3¾ (16th); Long Jump – 20-6½* (3rd); Total 4703.
Noah Moore: 100 – 12.13* (19th); 400 – 10:01.12 (33rd); 1500 – 6:09.44 (37th); 110 Hurdles – 21.62 (30th); Shot Put – 39-9¼ (4th); Discus – 79-2* (23rd); Javelin – 157-7¾* (3rd); High Jump – 4-9¾ (28th); Pole Vault – 7-6¼ (35th); Long Jump – 17-0¼ (22nd).