Hines Sets Personal Best in Decathlon

AUSTIN, Texas- Senior Neil Hines ran, threw and vaulted his way to provisionally qualify and secure a second-place finish in the decathlon on Thursday at the Texas Relays in Austin.

Hines' 7,314 points surpasses the NCAA Championship provisional qualifying mark of 6,900 points. The overall score also is the Morse Bluff, Neb., native's career best, blowing by his previous best overall point total of 7,259 points, which earned him an NCAA Championships berth last year.

“I just didn't want to screw anything up,” Hines said. “To hit 7,300 points, I didn't have to do anything amazing, just had to not screw anything up. I'm in a good spot for the rest of the year.”

Hines, who sat in sixth place at the end of yesterday, gradually moved up spots during the first three events of the day. The 15-5 mark he posted in the pole vault helped him overtake second place.

In the 1,500-meter run, the last event of the decathlon, Hines ran a 4:43.16 and beat the overall leader Brandon Buteaux of Texas-San Antonio who finished directly behind Hines. Buteaux earned just enough points in the race to edge Hines from the victory in the overall event.

“I thought he was real solid,” Iowa State assistant coach Ron McEachran said. “There are some more points out there, but he did a great job, especially this early in the year.”

With the solid score putting him in good shape for the NCAA Championships, the decathlon veteran can now focus on tuning up his individual events and look forward to the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Lincoln, Neb. on May 11-13.

“I think it's a positive that I didn't have any personal bests [in the individual events], but I got a personal best in the overall event,” Hines said.

The Cyclones continue action at the Texas Relays tomorrow and Saturday.