EUGENE, OR — Lee Walburn can now proudly add NCAA first-team All-American to his list of accomplishments.
The talented athlete from Whitefish, now competing at Washington State, achieved a remarkable seventh-place finish in the men’s decathlon on Thursday at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships held at Hayward Field.
Walburn started in 11th place after the first five events on Wednesday but showcased a strong performance on Thursday. He finished fourth in the discus (149 feet, 5 inches), fifth in the javelin (185-9), eighth in the pole vault (15-5½), ninth in the 1,500-meter run (4 minutes, 38.42 seconds), and 13th in the 110-meter hurdles (14.89 seconds), accumulating a total of 7,816 points.
The decathlon championship was clinched by Texas senior Leo Neugebauer, who set a collegiate record for the second consecutive year with 8,961 points. Neugebauer secured five first-place finishes in the long jump, shot put, high jump, discus, and pole vault events.
Walburn, who previously excelled at Carroll College as a two-time NAIA decathlon national champion before transferring to Washington State in December of 2022, is currently a senior at Washington State. In his first season with the Cougars, he secured a fifth-place finish at the 2023 Pac-12 Championships and continued his success with a remarkable second-place finish at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, earning him an automatic qualification for the NCAA Championships.
Walburn’s performance at the Championships, where he scored 7,816 points, marks a personal best for him. Throughout the week, he also achieved personal bests in the 100-meter dash (10.85), shot put (49-1½), 400-meter run (48.4), and 110 hurdles.
