Not even 40-plus mph wind gusts could blow J Patrick Smith off course in his quest for a third consecutive NCAA Division II Decathlon Championship. Smith scored 7,351 points despite sustained winds of 15-20 mph Saturday to win the stacked Sam Adams Multi Event Decathlon at Westmont College in Santa Barbara.
The Wildcat of the Week’s season-high point total is far and away the most in Division II this year and the eighth highest by any collegiate athlete. Teammate John Brunk is second in the standings with 7,262.
Smith, a senior from Dos Pueblos High School in neighboring Goleta, posted an NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark in the long jump (7.26 meters) as well as season bests in the 100-meters (10.95), 400 meters (50.27) Friday. He hurled the discus a career-best 42.44 meters on Saturday.
Smith’s 100 and 400-meter races were especially memorable. Decathlon World Record holder and 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist Adam Eaton competed in those events as well.
In doing so, Eaton became one of the few athletes to finish ahead of Smith over the past two-plus seasons.
Smith cemented a spot at the NCAA Championships with an Automatic Qualifying mark at the Chico Multi Invitation in February, along with teammates Brunk and Theodore Elsenbaumer, who rank second and third in Division II, respectively. The trio will tangle for the NCAA title May 22-23 in Allendale, Mich.
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