Despite his impressive locks, it can be easy to miss Adam Nikssarian in the shadows of his NCAA Championship caliber teammates. But the junior from Castro Valley enjoyed his moment in the sun in the final event of last week’s Mustang Invitational – the 1,500 meters.
Nikssarian needed to cover the four-lapper in a personal-best time of 4:37 for an NCAA Provisional Qualifying Mark, or to run an even faster 4:31 to eclipse the 6,300-point threshold.
He did even better. The transfer from San Francisco City College cruised to an easy win in the event, crossing the line in 4:28.50. By adding those 754 points to his total, Nikssarian set a decathlon personal best of 6,319 points, which is the 13th highest total in NCAA Division II this year. He also earned Wildcat of the Week honors.
Nikssarian notched PRs in two other events as well – the high jump (with a leap of 5-feet-11.5) and pole vault (with a jump of 12-feet-9.5).
Nikssarian finished third in the 17-man competition behind only teammates Theodore Elsenbaumer (who boasts the fourth-highest decathlon score in Division II this year) and J P Smith, the defending NCAA Champion in the event.
