AZUSA, Calif. – The University of Colorado Colorado Springs track & field team had a trio of student-athletes competing in the first day of the decathlon on Thursday at Azusa Pacific University's Franson Last Chance with junior Evan Atkin pacing the group as the leader of the 12-person field after the completion of five events.
 
INSIDE THE FRANSON LAST CHANCE
Location: APU Cougar Athletic Stadium | Azusa, Calif.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Already holding a season-best NCAA provisional qualifying score of 6,863 points in the decathlon that ranks 17^th in the nation, Atkin began his final push for a bid to the outdoor national championship meet with a strong day of action on Thursday in which he posted an event-leading score of 3,952 points through the first five events of the decathlon. Atkin collected some big tallies to open the day as he scored 850 points in the 100m with a time of 11.05s and 840 points in the long jump with a leap of 7.11m. He proceeded to post personal best marks in the next two events, scoring 608 points in the shot put with a toss of 12.02m and clearing a bar height of 2.00m in the high jump to add 803 points. Atkin closed his day with a solid effort in the 400m dash, racing to a time of 49.22s that was good for 851 points.
• Looking to improve on his season-best NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 6,781 points that ranks 20^th in the nation, redshirt junior Broden Cahoon also put together an impressive first day of action in the decathlon as he currently sits third overall in the field with a mark of 3,619 points. Cahoon picked up 888 points right off the bat as he clocked a time of 10.88s in the 100m dash before adding 799 points in the long jump with a leap of 6.94m. Cahoon notched 516 points in the shot put before finishing the day with 593 points in the high jump (1.76m) and 823 points in the 400m (49.82s).
• An indoor national qualifier in the heptathlon, senior Dillon Arvayo sits in seventh overall with a score of 3,469 points as he looks to improve on his season-best decathlon score of 6,104 that he recorded a couple weeks ago at the RMAC Outdoor Championships. Arvayo had a solid start to the day, scoring 789 points in the 100m dash with a time of 11.33s and 673 points in the long jump with a leap of 6.39m. He went on to score 614 points in the shot put with a toss of 12.13m and 696 points in the high jump with a bar clearance of 1.88m before finishing the day by clocking a time of 52.64s in the 400m that was good for 697 points.

UP NEXT

• The Mountain Lions' trio of decathletes will wrap up their final five events tomorrow beginning at 2 p.m. (MT), while junior Brett Davis is set to race in the men's 5,000m in the evening at approximately 9:20 p.m. (MT). UCCS will also have a group of student-athletes competing across town at the Air Force Twilight with events at the Cadet Outdoor Track Complex set to start at 10 a.m.

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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.