Emry holding decathlon podium potential
5/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Track and Field, Outdoor Track, Women's Track and Field
May 8, 2012
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After Austin Emry scored 6,568 points in his first career decathlon last month at Sacramento State's Mid-Major Challenge, Montana multi-events coach Adam Bork claimed Emry would be able to add at least 500 points to his score with another month of training leading up to the Big Sky Conference championships.
The time has come for that prediction to be put to the test.
Emry, a sophomore from Homedale, Idaho, will compete in the decathlon Wednesday and Thursday when the four-day Big Sky Conference outdoor championships open in Bozeman, Mont.
Emry is the only Montana athlete competing in the decathlon. The Grizzlies do not have a representative in the women's heptathlon.
The decathlon, which has 14 entries, starts at 1 p.m. on Wednesday and noon on Thursday. Big Sky TV will offer free video of the championships, and GoGriz.com will have live running updates through all four days' happenings.
Since scoring 6,568 points in mid-April, Emry has competed in seven of the decathlon's 10 events at meets at Pullman, Wash., Bozeman and Missoula. He posted improved marks in six of the seven events at those meets.
"I was kind of unsure what to expect at Sacramento, so my confidence is definitely higher," Emry said. "The big thing is that I'm way more comfortable in all the events.
"My goal is to PR or get close to my PR in every event, and I think that's possible."
The decathlon opens Wednesday with the 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters. Thursday's lineup features the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters.
Emry has competed in every event but the shot put, 400 and 1,500 meters since the Mid-Major Challenge.
Coaching Emry through the decathlon this week will be Bork, whose own history in the event gives weight to his words. He was the 2002 Big Sky decathlon champion while competing for the Grizzlies and had a career-best score of 7,699.
"I've seen what I wanted to see out of Austin these last few weeks," Bork said. "His confidence has grown to the point that I think he's now seeing himself as one of the better decathletes in the conference.
"He's progressed really well and is on track to get the points that I think he can. I definitely think he should be top three."
The favorites in the decathlon are heavy ones. Both are experienced upperclassmen and both will be competing on their home track.
Montana State junior Jeff Mohl has the Big Sky's top mark this spring of 7,528. His senior teammate, Asa Staven, has scored 7,355. Both marks came in mid-April at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.
Mohl's total ranks 17th in the nation, Staven's 23rd.
Mohl was second in the decathlon last year with a score of 7,371 points, eight behind Big Sky champion Sam Schur of Sacramento State. Staven won the indoor heptathlon title in February, with Mohl once again finishing runner-up.
Borks adds, "It's not that Austin isn't as talented as those guys. They are just older and have more experience, and they both have had the type of success Austin is looking to have."
Emry, who will be doing another half a decathlon Friday and Saturday when he competes in the open 110-meter hurdles, high jump, long jump, pole vault and 4x100-meter relay, enters the championships ranked seventh in the decathlon.
The four athletes behind Mohl and Staven and ahead of Emry on the Big Sky performance list -- Idaho State sophomores Christoph Lange, Logan Henderson and Justin Critser and Eastern Washington senior Kersee Lind -- all posted marks in April of between 6,735 and 6,797 points.
Nobody else in the Big Sky enters the championships with a mark better than 6,450.
