COLLEGE NOTEBOOK: Davis wins NAIA National Decathlon Championship

TJ Davis, Eastern Oregon University Track & Field

After the final event Thursday at Indiana Wesleyan University, Sandpoint Alumni TJ Davis was crowned the NAIA national champion in the men’s decathlon, scoring a new all-time best 7,231 points to claim the title.

Davis ends his college career with two national titles, having won the indoor heptathlon in 2022. It didn’t come easy, however. Down 149 points heading into the final event, Davis ran a new personal best time of 4:35.29 in the 1500-meter run to take second place and secure 710 points. Treshawn Roberts of Dakota State was leading, but placed 10th and only took home 502 points.

"What an outstanding performance by TJ in the decathlon," said Eastern Oregon University head coach Ben Welch in a report by the EOU Sports Information Department. "When you consider everything he has had to overcome just to be at the national meet, it's impressive. But to have the competition come down to the final event, and to achieve a personal best performance at that, is very impressive."

Davis placed second in six events in order to get the job done: javelin (177-2), discus (130-9), 110-meter hurdles (14.41), 400-meter dash (49.47), shot put (44-4), and the 1500. He placed sixth in the high jump (6-0), seventh in the pole vault (13-6), 11th in the long jump (20-2½), and eighth in the 100-meter dash (11.17).

Academic Awards

A total of 27 track and field athletes from Lewis-Clark State College were named to the Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete list, the conference announced. To be nominated, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and have attended one full year at their institution. Among locals honored were Abigail Gorton (Bonners Ferry), Connor Alexander (Bonners Ferry) and Sara Hathaway (Clark Fork).

A total of 17 Lackawanna College Baseball players were named to the President’s List recently. In order to make the President’s List, students must hold a 3.5 GPA or better, with a minimum of 24 credit hours, which includes 12 credits during the most recent semester. Cody Newhart (Sandpoint) achieved this distinction.