Hines Set to Cap Off Cyclone Career

SACRAMENTO, Calif.- Big 12 champion Neil Hines travels to Sacramento, Calif. to compete in the decathlon for the NCAA Championships on June 6 and 7 and will try to put an exclamation point on his Cyclone career and Iowa State's outdoor track and field season.

Hines, a Morse Bluff, Neb. native, earned a career high 7,508 points and won the decathlon at the Big 12 Championships in Lincoln on May 11 and 12. The performance ranked him fourth in the country in the event.

“This is a guy who came in here as, basically, a walk-on and has made steady improvements each year,” head men's track and field coach Steve Lynn said. “I think he's got a real opportunity here.”

This will be the Academic all-Big 12 honoree's second trip to the national meet. In 2005, Hines placed 14th overall in the competition with 6,907 points. The senior for the event in the NCAA Championships last season, but an injury forced him to withdraw.

“Last year he was injured, but this year he's one of the top guys in the competition,” Lynn said.

The decathlon is set to begin on Wednesday at 10 a.m. with the 100-meter dash. On Thursday decathlon events are also scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. with the 110-meter hurdles.