AZUSA, Calif. – Sophomore Evan Atkin opened a busy weekend of last chance competition for the University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team on Thursday as he put together a strong showing across the first five events of the men's decathlon at the Franson Last Chance in Azusa, Calif. to sit atop the field.
 
INSIDE THE FRANSON LAST CHANCE
Location: APU Cougar Athletic Stadium | Azusa, Calif.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• A second-year student-athlete from Craig, Colo., Atkin had a solid start to his third decathlon of the outdoor season as he began the day by posting a time of 11.42s in the 100m and a season-best leap of 6.78m in the long jump. He continued to excel as the day rolled on as he posted personal best marks in the shot put (11.85m) and 400m dash (50.36s) while matching his PR in the high jump (1.91m). After the first five events of the decathlon, Atkin holds a slim lead over the 10-person field with a day one score of 3,649 points.

BEYOND THE RESULTS

• Atkin entered the weekend ranked 24^th in NCAA Division II for the decathlon with his season-best score of 6,613 points. The top 16 declared athletes in the event will earn a selection to the national championship meet, and the current No. 16 ranked athlete on the national performance list holds a season-best mark of 6,819 points.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions will compete at a trio of meets tomorrow with Atkin being joined by a handful of distance runners for day two of the Franson Last Chance, the sprinters, jumpers, vaulters, and throwers heading to the Concordia Twilight in Seward, Neb., and a small group of 1500m runners competing at the Air Force Twilight.

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As a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the University of Colorado Colorado Springs competes in 14 varsity sports in NCAA Division II intercollegiate athletics.