McMorris Wins Decathlon With Personal Best 8,420 Points, Yuma Maruyuma Breaks Japanese Record; Beatrice Juškevičiūtė Wins Second Consecutive Heptathlon Title

Story and photos by Keenan Gray of DyeStat

INTERVIEWS | RESULTS/VIDEOS

WALNUT, Calif. - Defending decathlon champion Hakim McMorris repeated his winning ways for a second consecutive year at the Mt. SAC Relays Thursday at Hilmer Lodge Stadium.

McMorris, this year's USATF Indoor Combined Events heptathlon champion, needed a personal best score of 8,423 points to take home this year's decathlon title.

McMorris won five of the 10 events scored. Three of five were won on the first day to put his total at 4,430 points.

His next two event wins came in the 110-meter hurdles to begin day two and then won the pole vault, matching his lifetime best clearance 5.10 meters (16-8.75) to snag a crucial 941 points.

The penultimate event, the javelin, was McMorris' worst event of the weekend, throwing only 50.18m (164-7) and came away with 591 points. 

McMorris' lead prior to the javelin was 204 points on Japan's Yuma Maruyuma. Maruyuma threw 59.86m (196-4), scored 736 points and cut McMorris' lead to 69 points going into the 1,500.

McMorris didn't hesitate to take the lead early in the 1,500 and get away from Maruyuma. After two laps, McMorris was eight seconds ahead of Maruyuma.

McMorris fell to second after lap three, but his lead had increased by two more second on Maruyuma. However, with 300 meters to go, Maruyuma began to close the gap on McMorris.

The Japanese record of 8,308 points, set 14 years ago by Keisuke Ushiro, was within reach of Maruyuma, thus encouraging him more on his last lap to chase after a national record.

While McMorris had just enough room to work with to beat Maruyuma in the 1,500 and the overall decathlon standings, Maruyuma needed to run faster than 4:35 to get the Japanese record. He ran 4:33.58.

UConn's Joshua Mooney broke 8,000 points for the first time in his career, scoring an NCAA#2 8,033 points to finish third overall and as the top collegian.

Louisville's Kenneth Byrd (7,891) and Californias Seth Johnson (7,786) finished fourth and fifth.

Lithuanian Juškevičiūtė Repeats Heptathlon Title

Beatrice Juškevičiūtė scored a personal best 6,323 points to claim her second consecutive heptathlon title, beating Erin Marsh of VS Athletics by 219 points.

The Lithuanian Juskeviciute, who was an NCAA runner-up in the heptathlon for Vanderbilt in 2023, won only two of the seven events but together good marks in the long jump, 100 hurdles and high jump to help better her previous heptathlon score of 6,295, which was set last year at Mt. SAC.

The American Marsh, third at the USATF Indoor Combined Events, improved her scored from last year's fourth-place finish at Mt. SAC by 73 points with 6,104 points, her best season debut to date.

Marsh's VS Athletics teammates, Lexie Keller and Avery Rhoads, rounded out the top five finishers with scores of 6,072 and 6,019 for fourth and fifth, respectively.

Washington's Sofia Coscuellela scored an NCAA-leading 6,093 points to finish third overall, improving her lifetime best by 76 points.

Other Highlights:

- Stevie Lawrence of ASICS Mammoth Track Club won the women's invitational steeplechase in 9:55.91. Lawrence, who represents Great Britain, finished seventh in the The Carlsbad 5,000 in Carlsbad, Calif., four days prior.

- Hofstra's Jason Kerber ran a personal best 30:22.54 in the men's invitational 10,000, winning by 30 seconds.

- Cal State Fullerton's Sam Berhane ran 9:23.02 to take the men's invitational steeplechase.

- Former Washington Husky Chandler Ault won the men's invitational javelin for the second year in a row with a 71.90m (235-10).

- Nevada's Lilly Urban threw an NCAA#5 56.60m (185-8) to win the women's invitational javelin.