CABOT -- Joey Saucier has some ground to make up if he's going to bring the state high school decathlon title back to Rogers Heritage for the third consecutive year.
Saucier led for much of Wednesday at the 52nd annual state high school decathlon, but Lorenzo Watkins of Hamburg overtook Saucier in the 400 meters -- the final event of the day -- to take the overall lead heading into the final day of competition at Cabot High School.
Watkins, a junior, turned in the top performance in the long jump (21 feet, 8 3/4 inches) and finished two spots ahead of Saucier in the 400 to finish with 3,333 points through five events.
Lake Hamilton senior Donnell West is in second place with 3,298 points, while Saucier, a senior, is third with 3,237 points.
Completing the top 10 were Beebe's Connor Patrom (3,213 points), Fayetteville's Cameron Chase (3,180), Rogers' Tony Roller (3,172), Crossett's Trayvon Caldwell (3,170), Rogers Heritage's Brandon Shaw (3,105), Crossett's Keith Pippen (3,104) and Genoa Central's Hayden Hampton (3,093).
Saucier is trying to become the third consecutive athlete from Rogers Heritage to win the decathlon, following Daniel Spickes (2014) and Alex Mills (2013). Benton was the last school to accomplish that feat when Bubba Barrow won in 1985, Kennis Pledger won in 1986 and Corey Hill won in 1987.
Saucier's day was bolstered by second-place finishes in the 100 (11.30 seconds) and the shot put (43-8 3/4), but he was hurt by his performances in the jumps. Saucier was 25th in the long jump with a leap of 19-1 1/2, good enough for 550 points, and he managed to clear 5-7 in the high jump, good for 17th place and 544 points.
War Eagles Coach Jay Miles said Saucier is still in good shape to compete for the overall title and doesn't need to press on the final day.
"He just needs to maintain his focus and do what he's capable of," Miles said. "Don't push too hard and not do too much and the good stuff will come if he can do that."
Saucier said he thought he fared well Wednesday, but he knows he is still in the hunt going into the final five events today.
"I want to focus hard on the hurdles, discus and pole vault," Saucier said.
Watkins earned 725 points for his first-place leap in the long jump, while Ashdown's Douglas Morgan (21-1 1/2) was third.
Tyler Phillips of North Little Rock took first in the shot put with a bet effort of 46-4 1/4, and Bentonville's Shelby Story took third (43-2).
Pippen posted the top time in the 100 (11.20) to earn 817 points.
Hampton cleared 6-4 3/4 in the high jump, which was good for 758 points. Richard Barkhimer of Camden Harmony Grove (6-2 3/4) and Dylan Western of Bald Knob (6-2 3/4) tied for second.
Competition begins at 10 a.m. today with athletes competing in the 110 high hurdles, the discus, the pole vault, the triple jump and the 1,500.
Sports on 05/21/2015