STATE HIGH SCHOOL HEPTATHLON/DECATHLON

Caldwell makes late run, holds off decathlon field

Crossett’s Trevean Caldwell placed fifth in the decathlon as a sophomore in 2014, but the senior finished up strong Thursday to win the two-day meet.
Crossett’s Trevean Caldwell placed fifth in the decathlon as a sophomore in 2014, but the senior finished up strong Thursday to win the two-day meet.

CABOT -- Trevean Caldwell ran his way to the state high school decathlon championship.

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Batesville’s Kylan Robinson competes in the discus Thursday at the state high school decathlon at Cabot. Robinson had a best-effort of 102 feet, 3 1/2 inches in the event and finished fourth in the final overall standings.

Caldwell won two of Thursday's five events and sealed the 59th annual state decathlon in the 1,500 meters to win the two-day meet.

The Crossett athlete won the 110 hurdles and triple jump Thursday and won three of the meet's 10 events overall, including the 400 on Wednesday. He earned 6,201 points, becoming the first competitor from a school other than Rogers Heritage to win the decathlon since 2012. A Heritage athlete won the event the past three years, with Alex Miles winning in 2013, Daniel Spickes in 2014 and Joey Saucier in 2015.

"I just never quit and strived for greatness," Caldwell said.

Cabot senior Mark Odom, the meet's leader after five events Wednesday, was second overall with 6,159 points. Genoa Central senior Hayden Hampton had 6,087 points to finish third.

Rounding out the top 10 were Batesville junior Kylan Robinson (5,743 points), Gentry senior Bryan Harris (5,710), Rogers senior Tony Roller (5,696), Pine Bluff senior Lawrence Nelson (5,673), Beebe senior Connor Patrom (5,659), Rogers Heritage senior Brandon Shaw (5,656) and Springdale Har-Ber junior Zach McWhorter (5,573).

The decathlon capped a solid senior season for Caldwell. He won the Class 4A state title in the triple jump, and the 110- and 300 hurdles May 3 in Nashville.

Caldwell was fifth in the decathlon as a sophomore in 2014 and fourth last year.

"The experience helped him over the past two years, just seeing the competition at every level," Crossett Coach Rodney Lawson said. "I think it helped him a lot."

Entering the 1,500, Thursday's final event, Caldwell was sixth with 5,540 points, 170 behind Harris, who was done for the day after competing in the seventh flight.

But Caldwell had the event's eighth-best time, 4 minutes, 43.04 seconds. Those 661 points helped boost him into first place overall. Heber Springs' Patrick Hill had the best time in the 1,500 at 4:18.36, earning 823 points. Jessieville's Noah Eskew was second (4:20.51) and Elkins' Michael Harris (4:21.96) was third.

Rain fell during the final flight of the 1,500, but it didn't bother Caldwell.

"I'd rather like it to rain then for it to be sunny," Caldwell said. "If it's sunny, my energy kind of drains. So I got a little bit of energy from the rain. I was able to cool down a little bit."

Caldwell won the 110 hurdles, clocking in at 15.00, .01 seconds ahead of Odom. He earned 850 points. Roller was third with a time of 15.44.

Also, Caldwell was victorious in the triple jump, leaping 45 feet, 8 inches to earn 694 points. Robinson was second (45-4 1/4) while Lake Village's Christopher Johnson was third (42-9 3/4).

Hampton had the best throw in the discus (125-8), earning 630 points. Harris (119-4) and Caddo Hills' Christian Duggan (118-10) were second and third, respectively.

McWhorter, the Class 7A state champion in the pole vault, cleared 14-6 to earn 737 points. Fayetteville's Harrison Hurley was second (13-5 3/4) followed by Rogers' Landon McClung (12-11 3/4).

Odom entered the 1,500 in third place with 5,590 points after earning 543 points in the triple jump. But he couldn't overcome Caldwell in the final flight.

"We're just so proud of Mark Odom," Cabot Coach Leon White said. "Today, he just did everything we asked him to do. He laid it on the line in the 1,500 meters. He gave us everything he had."

White coached at Crossett in 1978-2000 before being hired at Cabot. Caldwell's decathlon title allowed the former Eagles coach to reminisce on his previous position.

"I've got a soft spot for Crossett in my heart," White said. "If we're going to lose to somebody, I'm proud that it was Crossett, because I love those people in Crossett. Caldwell is such a great athlete. I'm very proud of him. It was great competition."

Sports on 05/20/2016

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