sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Maybe, at some point after he returns from South America, Jhett Kinghorn might want to give this decathlon thing some serious consideration.

The recent La Cueva High School graduate, in his first-ever decathlon competition, won the Great Southwest Track and Field Classic decathlon title at the University of New Mexico Track and Field Complex on Friday afternoon.

鈥淢y first one, I knew there would be some bumps in the road, but I鈥檓 happy with how it went,鈥� Kinghorn said.

Over the course of two days and 10 events at UNM, Kinghorn, who was also a defensive mainstay last fall on the Bears football team, accumulated 6,291 points. He had three outright first-place finishes, in the 100-meter dash (10.93 seconds), the 400 (49.98) and the long jump (21 feet, 11 戮 inches).

鈥淚 just went into it, everything is a competition,鈥� Kinghorn said. 鈥淚f I win the event, then I鈥檒l win overall.鈥�

He tied for first in the pole vault with Legacy Academy鈥檚 Jay Lee, as each cleared 14-5录.

Why did he decide to try the decathlon? Kinghorn鈥檚 answer was quite practical, and funny.

鈥淚 just really enjoy doing a lot of stuff,鈥� he said, smiling. 鈥淚 get bored 鈥� so the decathlon seemed perfect for me.鈥�

Dylan Dye of Utah finished as runner-up, with 6,160 points.

Organ Mountain鈥檚 Asa Laws placed third (6,135), followed by the Colorado State-bound Lee (6,061) who, like Kinghorn, was in his maiden decathlon. Lee鈥檚 best individual event, other than the tie in the pole vault, was a second to Kinghorn in the long jump.

In August, Kinghorn is leaving for a two-year mission to Argentina, so his future athletic plans remain up in the air.

But just as he was impressive during the spring track season for La Cueva, he had a fine showing over two days at UNM.

鈥淚鈥檓 happy it鈥檚 over, but it was fun,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was a good time. I鈥檓 glad I did it.鈥�

Highland鈥檚 Rebecca Neal had an outstanding showing in the girls鈥� heptathlon. She placed second to Arizona鈥檚 Jayci Ballard.

Ballard scored 4,510 points, Neal finished at 4,423 points, and Neal was leading going into the final event, the 800-meter run. But that proved to be a bit of a struggle for her, and she placed sixth while Ballard won that event.

Neal had first-place finishes in the 100-meter high hurdles, and also the shot put. She had a second place in the javelin,

Her point total was almost 500 points better than she scored at the Great Southwest last year, when she finished sixth.

It was a mostly quiet day at UNM, aside from the decathlon and heptathlon, and several running events that were scheduled Friday night. (sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Academy running star Anna Hastings was doing the 2,000-meter Steeplechase late in the evening.)

There was one other notable highlight: Kaysville, Utah鈥檚 Johnny Parker recorded a throw of 232 feet 6 inches in the hammer, breaking the meet record.

The majority of the meet will be held on Saturday. The field events will be ongoing throughout the day, starting at 9 a.m. The 5 p.m. boys shot put could be interesting with the late addition of Texas鈥� C.J. Williams, who is arguably the top shot putter in the nation with throws over 70 feet.

A few of the top athletes in the metro area are entered this weekend. The elite part of the running program begins just after 5 p.m. Saturday.

James Yodice covers prep sports for the Journal. You can reach him at jyodice@abqjournal.com or via X at .