Oliver Posts Best CU Decathlon Score in 40 Years

Thursday, April 13

Cerritos, Calif.

All Day

Colorado

California Invitational

April 13, 2017 | Track and Field

Results

By: Maggie Still, Assistant SID

AZUSA, Calif. – University of Colorado sophomore Isaiah Oliver posted the best CU decathlon score in over 40 years here Thursday as he finished in third at the California Invitational.

WHAT HAPPENED
DECATHLON
Oliver posted a final two day score of 7,331 to finish in third place and earn the Buffs six team points at the California Invitational. This is the highest score by a CU decathlete in over 40 years as Oliver now owns the fourth best decathlon score in school history. Mike Hill and Mike Wedman are the only two Buffs who have better final scores than Oliver as their marks of 7,645, 7,543 and 7,470 come from June of 1974.

Isaiah Oliver kicked off the second day of competition right where he left off the day before, breaking a school decathlon record. In the 110 meter hurdles Oliver crossed the finish line at 14.46 to finish second and break yet another 10 year old decathlon school record. The record was previously owned by Jordan Hudgens (14.70). Oliver went on to add 558 points from the discus throw as he tossed a 114/34.74 mark which is a personal best. Oliver closed out his day on the track where he finished fourth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:32.98.

Teammate Andrew Ghizzone worked his way up the rankings as he usually does on the second day of competition as he moved seven spots to finish seventh overall with new career high 7,045 points. Ghizzone started off his day adding a solid 850 points from the 110 meter hurdles as he ran a 15.00 time to finish ninth A big boost came from the pole vault where Ghizzone added on 819 points after clearing a 15-5/4.70 height. Ghizzone's 1,500 meters was the highlight of the day for him as he crossed the finish line first with a time of 4:18.62 to earn 821 points to his final score.

HEPTATHLON
Maja Wichhart-Donzo finished her heptathlon competition, coming in fifth place with a career best total score of 5,108. She began the day with three events left, starting with the long jump where she landed a 18-0.25/5.49 mark to finish in 10^th. Wichhart-Donzo solidified her top-5 finish in the 800 meters where she clocked a PR time of 2:18.53 to finish fourth and earn 874 points.

Teammates Michaela Wenning and Drianna Mustin also finished with personal best scores as Wenning finished 18^th with 4,934 points and Mustin came right behind her in 20^th with 4,679 points. Mustin's 800 meters were a highlight as she finished in third place with a time of 2:17.53 which also moves her up in the top-15 for the CU heptathlon record for the 800.

UP NEXT: The weekend for the track and field team continues tomorrow as a handful of sprinters, jumpers and throwers will compete at the Bryan Clay Invitational also in Azusa.

QUOTABLE (Assistant Coach Lindsey Malone)
Overall
"Today was another amazing day. Isaiah Oliver takes the cake with the biggest performances of the day. 7,331 is a really elite score, especially for a sophomore. There is a small chance that will get into the NCAA Championships for the decathlon. Depending on this weekend's scores around the country he is about 15^th. He had a great finish to the day in the 1,500. That was a big PR for him. Andrew Ghizzone certainly helped him with that. We developed a plan where they were going to run it together and Isaiah would know how close he had to be to Andrew to reach his goal time which was 4:33.00 and he ran a 4:32.98. So, you can't get much closer than that. Isaiah, breaking another school record this morning was fantastic in the 110 hurdles. He is ranked No. 3 all-time on CU's list now.

To have two guys on a team finish with over 7,000 points is something I have not had before and I am very impressed with what they are bringing to the table and they are both very young still. On the men's side, it was just a tremendous day and I am very proud of them.

On the women's side, they finished off tremendously well too. Maja's score is a huge PR for her. They all ran amazing 800s to finish off the day. Everyone fought through the very end and raced out of their minds, in my opinion.

HEPTATHLON
Total Points: (1. Christina Chenault, UCLA, 5,438) 5. Maja Wichhart-Donzo, 5,108; 18. Michaela Wenning, 4,934; 20. Drianna Mustin, 4,679
Long Jump: (1. Christina Chenault, UCLA, 19-2.75/5.86) 10. Maja Wichhart-Donzo, 18-0.25/5.49; 22. Michaela Wenning, 17-4.75/5.30; 41. Drianna Mustin, 16-2.50/4.94
Javelin: (1. Alexis Brenzil, Hawaii, 135-7/41.33) 13. Michaela Wenning, 110-02/33.58; Maja Wichhart-Donzo, 90-08/27.65; 30. Drianna Mustin, 86-3/26.30
800 Meters: (1. Christina Chenault, UCLA, 2:13.69) 3. Drianna Mustin, 2:17.53; 4. Maja Wichhart-Donzo, 2:18.53; 9. Michaela Wenning, 2:19.65

DECATHLON 'A' Section
Total Points: (1. Tim Wunderlich, Shore Athletic Club, 7,517) 3. Isaiah Oliver, 7.331; 7. Andrew Ghizzone, 7,045; 18. Davis Butte, 4,954
110 Meter Hurdles: (1. Tyler Brendel, California, 14.35) 2. Isaiah Oliver, 14.46; 9. Andrew Ghizzone, 15.00; 18. Davis Butte, 16.64
Discus: (1. Tim Wunderlich, Shore Athletic Club, 147/44.98) 7. Isaiah Oliver, 114/34.74; 11. Andrew Ghizzone, 112-2/34.18; 20. Davis Butte, 92-8/28.25
Pole Vault: (1. Cole Jensen, Washington, 16-4.75 /5.0) 4. Andrew Ghizzone, 15-5/4.70; 14. Isaiah Oliver, 12.9.5/3.90
Javelin: (1. Tim, Wunderlich, Shore Athletic Club, 192-5/58.64) 14. Isaiah Oliver, 143-11/43.87; 15. Andrew Ghizzone, 139-5/42.50
1,500: (1. Andrew Ghizzone, 4:18.62) 4. Isaiah Oliver, 4:32.98; 11. Davis Butte, 4:54.90

DECATHLON 'B' Section
Total Points: (1. Matt Neururer, North Dakota State, 6,821; Nate Gravelding, 5,360
110 Meter Hurdles: (1. Teddy Frid, Sioux Falls, 15.27) 16. Nate Gravelding, 18.22
Discus: (1. Tony Ukkelberg, North Dakota State, 131-5/40.06) 15. Nate Gravelding, 92-11/28.32
Pole Vault: (1. Andrew Bartnett, JOHN, 4.70) 8. Nate Gravelding, 13-1.5/4.00
Javelin: (1. Andrew Bartnett, Johns Hopkins, 152-0/46.33) 8. Nate Gravelding, 129-06/39.47
1,500: (1. Matt Neururer, North Dakota State, 4:19.55) 14. 4:58.26