MARION, IN - Reid Gustavson took gold in the men's decathlon at the 2010 NAIA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Marion, IN, claiming top spot in stunning fashion with a strong performance in the final race of the 10-event competition en route to 7,026 points, just surpassing Oregon Tech Bryant Sentman's 6,993.
RESULTS
Gustavson, who dominated the first day of competition in the decathlon, entered day two with a commanding 455-point lead over Sentman.
The T-Bird senior wasn't able to replicate his day one success on Friday, however, and Sentman slowly chipped away at Gustavson's lead before taking over first following the javelin which was the second to last event.
Trailing by 42 points with only one event remaining, Gustavson made up the deficit, turning in a stellar time of 4:40.36 in the 1500m run which was enough to move past Sentman who finished with a time of 4:52.53.
Fellow T-Bird, Ivan Staeheli, finished fifth overall with 6,709 points.
On the track, senior Inaki Gomez claimed gold for the third consecutive year in the men's 5000m race walk with a winning time of 20:30.35 to outdistance his nearest rival by nearly 35 seconds.
Surprisingly that rival was Cedarville's Josh Wiseman (21:05.22) as fellow T-Birds Evan Dunfee, the 2009 NAIA silver medalist, and Creighton Connolly, the fourth-place finisher from 2009, were both disqualified ruining the T-Birds hopes of a 1-2-3 finish.
Gomez, a former swimmer who also collected a silver medal as a freshman in 2007, closed out one of the best race walk careers in UBC history in style. He improved each season, with this final effort moving him within 23 seconds of the NAIA Record (20:07.38) which is held by Al Heppner, one of the top race walkers in US history.
Joining Gomez as a repeat champion in the race walk was junior Nicola Evangelista who brought home the title in the women's 5000m with a time of 25:11.56.
Heading into the final day of competition, which features 22 finals, the UBC men lead the team competition with 39 points. The women sit tied for fourth with 22 points, however, neither squad figures to have enough races on Saturday to maintain their current position.
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