BYU Invitational: Heptathlon & Decathlon Highlights

A new wrinkle was introduced at this year’s BYU Invitational with the inclusion of a girls heptathlon and a boys decathlon in advance of the main meet.

Only a small number of athletes competed in the two-day competition, which wrapped up on Thursday afternoon.

Here is a rundown of how things turned out in the heptathlon and decathlon —

1A-2A Heptathlon:

Four small school athletes turned out to compete. The competition ended up being dominated by Enterprise teammates Jodi Williams and Tessa Lyman.

Lyman, a junior, tallied 3837 points to win the heptathlon. Williams, also a junior, scored 3818 to finish a close second. Both girls won three events apiece. Lyman finished in 2:30.24 to win the 800 meters, clocked in at 27.82 seconds to win the 200 and claimed first in the 100 hurdles with a time of 16.76 seconds. Williams won the high jump after clearing a 5-4 height, took first in the shot put with a throw of 29 feet and 10.5 inches and won the long jump with a best jump of 15-5.25

3A-5A Heptathlon:

12 athletes from 10 schools turned out to battle for the top heptathlete crown. The winner proved to be Salem Hills sophomore Siale Vaitohi, who tallied 3994 points to run away from the pack.

Vaitohi finished first in four events and placed second in two others. She swept the long jump and the high jump — winning the former event with a top jump of 16 feet and 6 inches and the latter event after clearing a 5-2 height. Vaitohi also claimed victory in the 100 hurdles after finishing in 16.73 seconds and the 800 meters with a time of 2:35.83.

Lone Peak senior Megan Mower prevented her from sweeping the running events when she finished in 27.35 — 0.12 seconds ahead of Vaitohi — to win the 200 meters.

1A-2A Decathlon:

Millard senior Rendon Shields ended up being the lone small school participant in the decathlon. Shields completed all 10 events.

3A-5A Decathlon:

14 athletes from seven schools took part in the battle to be named top decathlete. After two days of competition, Westlake junior Max Scheible stepped forward and claimed that honor.

Scheible won four events and finished second or third in three others to earn 5955 points and claim the top spot. He excelled in the short-distance events — winning the 100 meters after finishing in 11.29 seconds, the 110 hurdles after finishing in 15.38 and the 400 meters after clocking in at 51.58. Scheible also claimed a victory in the long jump with a top jump of 20 feet and 5.5 inches.

Logan senior Billy Phillips finished as the runner-up after winning a pair of events and claiming top-three finishes in four others. Phillps won the javelin after throwing it 139 feet and 10 inches and took first in the pole vault after successfully clearing an 11-6 height.

Fremont senior Ben Johnson also won a pair of events, claiming first in the shot put with a throw of 48 feet and first in the discus with a throw of 153 feet and 10 inches.

—