Florida’s Anna Hall won the heptathlon and Garrett Scantling retained his national decathlon title at the 2022 USATF Combined Events Championships, which ended after two exciting days at John McDonnell Field in Arkansas, on Saturday (7).
Anna Hall Wins 2022 USATF Combined Events Championships – Heptathlon
Collegian standout Hall extended her outstanding form this season after she tallied a big personal best mark of 6,458 points to become only the third collegiate athlete to win the USATF Combined Events Championships.
The winning performance is also the second-best record in NCAA history for the women’s heptathlon as she punched her ticket to the World Athletics Championships to be held in Eugene, Oregon, in July.
Hall entered the second day of the competition with a slight advantage after the first day’s opening four events, she won two of the last three events on Saturday, including a remarkable 2:03.11 for the 800m to close out the contest with “everything she had left in the tank.”
The Gators’ 800m performance is the fourth-fastest heptathlon time ever on the world list, which is also an American Record for the event in the multi competition.
Ashtin Zamzow-Mahler, the 2019 NCAA champion, was second with 6,184pts, while Michelle Atherley finished third with a score of 6154.
Garrett Scantling and Kyle Garland Impressed in Decathlon
Meanwhile, reigning champion and Olympic fourth-place finisher Garrett Scantling set a new personal best to win the men’s decathlon with a total of 8,867 points.
Scantling, who entered the second day of two in second place, took the lead for good through eight events and went on to set a new world-leading mark and broke Ashton Eaton’s facility record from 8,241pts.
Also securing a place on Team USA’s World Athletics World Championships 2022 team this summer was Kyle Garland, who destroyed the decathlon collegiate record.
Lindon Victor, who totaled 8,539pts in 2017 held the previous best mark by a collegiate athlete before Saturday’s contest in Fayetteville.
Garland, the overnight leader from Friday’s first day, knew that he was on pace to do something special at the end of the competition on Saturday and the University of Georgia star did exactly.
The Bulldogs junior posted three personal bests in his final three events to end the competition on his way to setting an overall personal best with 8,720pts in addition to achieving the world championships qualifying standard.
The mark tallied by Garland this weekend was enough for him to take over the school record from Karel Tilga, who had scored 8,484 at the 2021 Spec Towns Invitational.
Garland also moves to No. 7 / No. 8 among American performers in the event history.
Olympic sixth-place finisher Zach Ziemek, who took third with a lifetime best mark of 8,573pts, will join Scantling and Garland on the USA team for the upcoming World Athletics Championships 2022 from July 15-24.
2022 USATF Combined Events Championships Points Standings
Men’s Decathlon Points Standings
Pl Athlete Points
1 Garrett SCANTLING – NIKE 8867 – PB WL FR
2 Kyle GARLAND – Univ. of Georgia 8720 – PB CR WA Q
3 Zachery ZIEMEK 8573 – PB
4 “Steven BASTIEN Unattached” 8135
5 Hunter PRICE – FK Elite Track Club 7897
6 Dylan COOPER – Unattached 7876 – PB
7 Jack FLOOD – Unattached 7759
8 Jackson WALKER – Unattached 7295 – SB
9 William EGGERS – Unattached 7030 – SB
10 Josh COGDILL – Unattached 6684
11 Kyle MARTIN – Jacksonville Athletic Club 5984
12 Joseph DELGADO – Unattached 5686
13 Mat CLARK – Unattached 5413
DNF Devon WILLIAMS – New York Athletic Club —
DNS Samuel BLACK – Unattached —
Women’s Heptathlon Points Standings
Pl Athlete Points
1 Anna HALL – Univ. of Florida 6458 – PB WL FR WA Q
2 Ashtin MAHLER – Tracksmith 6184
3 Michelle ATHERLEY – Unattached 6154
4 Chari HAWKINS – Unattached 6031
5 Alissa BROOKS-JOHNSON – Unattached 5736 – SB
6 Sarah GLIDDEN – Unattached 5608 – PB
7 Melanie WINTERS – Unattached 5590
8 Cheyenne WILLIAMSON – Saginaw Valley State Univ. 5427 – SB
9 Taliyah BROOKS – ASICS 4291
10 Erica BOUGARD – NIKE / New York Athletic Club 1675
DNF Kendell WILLIAMS – NIKE —
DNF Hope BENDER – Unattached —
