Cal alum Hakim McMorris delivered his best career performance on the national stage, finishing third in the decathlon this week at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Icahn Stadium on Randall’s Island in New York City.
McMorris, 26, fell short of matching his personal-best score, but was competitive for two days against a field that included a pair of Olympians.
McMorris recorded the best mark in three of 10 events, was second-best in two others, posted a personal best in two events and a season-best in another.
He made a significant leap to third place after settling for 10th a year ago. McMorris, who closed out his Cal career in 2022, ranks fourth on the Bears’ career list in the decathlon.
He began his journey on Thursday by clocking a 10.61-second time in the 100 meters, best in the field, to score 949 points. McMorris followed that by long jumping 24 feet, 1 inch (7.34 meters), which was third-best in the event and earned him 896 points.
McMorris then threw the shot put 47-11 3/4 (14.62m) for fifth-best and 766 points, before scaling 6-3 1/2 (1.92m) for eighth in the high jump and 731 points.
He closed out the five-event first day with a lifetime-best effort in the 400 meters, dashing the one-loop distance in 46.32, fastest among the 15 entries, to score 987 points and reach the halfway point in third place with 4329 points.
A 14.25 clocking in the 110 hurdles was the second best in Friday’s opening event and worth 942 points. McMorris followed that by throwing the discus a season-best 146-3 (44.58m) for fifth position and 758 points.
McMorris remained in third place overall after winning the pole vault with a clearance of 16-8 3/4 (5.10m) to match his career-best and collect 941 points.
The javelin is typically McMorris’ weakest event, and he scored just 598 points with a ninth-place finish. But his mark of 166-0 (50.61m) was his career-best, so it represented progress,
A strong middle-distance runner, McMorris closed the two-day event by clocking 4:30.04 to cross in second place and pocket 744 points.
McMorris wound up with 8312 points — off his best of 8420 from earlier this year. Garrett Scantling, 33, a fourth-place finisher at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, won his third U.S. title with a score of 8526 and Tokyo bronze medalist Kyle Garland was second at 8431.
Garland and Scantling rank Nos. 3 and 4 all-time on the U.S. list.
Meanwhile, former Cal hammer thrower Giovanna Meeks placed eighth with a mark of 217-9 (66.38m) while Golden Bear alum Johnny B. Goode failed to advance after finishing 15th in the semifinals of the 400 meters at 46.24.
Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky
Add us as a preferred source on Google
