EUGENE, Ore. — Washington State’s Lee Walburn finished seventh in the men’s decathlon at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor track and field championships on Thursday, scoring 7,816 points to achieve a personal best in a competition filled with personal records.
Walburn, a Whitefish graduate, had previously won two NAIA decathlon championships at Carroll College before transferring to the Cougars two years ago.
He kicked off the 2024 NCAA competition with personal bests in the 100 meters, shot put, and 400 meters, placing him 11th after five events.
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Three personal records for Lee Walburn in Day #1 of the decathlon!
Locked in and ready for the conclusion today. #GoCougs // #NCAATF pic.twitter.com/5QjLMuxlhq
— Washington State XC/TF (@WSUCougarXCTF) June 6, 2024
Walburn continued his success on the second day with a personal best in the 110 hurdles and a season-best performance in the pole vault, moving up the rankings.
After nine events, Walburn entered the final 1,500 meters in seventh place, where he ran another season best to secure first-team All-America honors.
Texas’ Leo Neugebauer won the decathlon with a collegiate-record 8,961 points, dominating the competition by a significant margin.
Walburn had previously placed fifth at the 2023 Pac-12 championships, marking his best postseason finish for the Cougars.
In his only other full decathlon during the 2024 season, Walburn scored 7,694 points at the Texas Relays in March, meeting the minimum qualifying mark for the U.S. Olympic Trials and ranking 11th in the country ahead of the NCAA championships.