SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Wichita State senior student-athlete Austin Bahner scored 7512 points during the two days of the decathlon to finish in seventh at the USA Track and Field Senior Championships on Friday at the Sacramento State University's Hornet Stadium in Sacramento.
Friday's action began with the 110-meter hurdles, which Bahner finished with a time of 15.93 seconds to earn 14th place and 741 points. He then had his best finish in the decathlon by throwing 147'-7” in the discus, good for second place and 767 points.
He then finished fourth in the pole vault after clearing 15'-5”, earning 819 points. During the javelin throw, Bahner threw 180'-6” to finish ninth while scoring 663 points. Bahner completed the decathlon after earning an eighth place finish in the 1500-meter run, running a time of 4:43.41 to score 659 points and solidly seventh place.
Shocker track and field head coach Steve Rainbolt was very proud of Bahner's performance during the decathlon.
“I am extremely proud of the way Austin competed in the final meet in a Wichita State uniform,” Rainbolt said. “He did not have his 'A' game on day one and then had a serious mishap in the hurdles Friday morning but competed so hard in his final four events that it allowed him to move all the way back up to seventh place.
“He will get some more international competition this summer. I am confident he is coming back from his injury during the indoor season beautifully and will be ready for an even better result later this summer.”
Bahner will next compete at either the Pan-American Combined Events Cup on July 17-18 in Ottawa, Canada or the Thorpe Cup on July 26-27 in Marberg, Germany.
-WICHITA STATE-
