Iowa’s Austin West eyes big finish at NCAA track meet

As a freshman at Iowa City West High School, Austin West didn’t compete in track and field.

As a sophomore, he joined the team as “one of those guys wanting to work on my speed for football.”

As a 22-year-old sophomore on the University of Iowa track and field team, West ranks among the best decathletes in the country.

A runner-up in the Big Ten Championships who set the school record this spring, West enters this week’s NCAA outdoor championships seeded third in the two-day, 10-event competition that starts Wednesday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

“The body feels good,” said West, who scored a record 8,179 points at the Mt. Sac Relays in April. “I’m excited for Day 1.”

West is one of 16 Hawkeyes competing in the national meet, which wraps up Saturday. James Carter is seeded third in the long jump and also will compete in the triple jump. Josh Braveman and Gratt Reed are in the 110 high hurdles, Julien Gillum in the 400 hurdles, Jordan Johnson in the discus and Nick Curtiss in the shot put.

West also will run in the 1,600 relay with Gillum, Spencer Gudgel and Armando Bryson. Reed also is in the 400 relay with Kalil Johnson, Austin Kresley and Khullen Jefferson.

The Iowa women’s team is led by LaSarah Hargrove in the 100 and 200 dashes, and Erin Dowd and Paige Magee in the 400 hurdles. Hargrove, Dowd, Magee and Lia Love also will run the 400 relay.

Learning the decathlon was a “long process” for West, but it was something that interested the multisport high school athlete because it “seemed like it would keep me busy.”

He said when he scored 7,805 points and placed third at last year’s Big Ten championships, he considered himself a decathlete.

One of the challenges and beauties of the decathlon is “you never quite feel like you get it right,” he said.

“More risk, more reward.”

Day 1 consists of the 100-meter dash, followed by the long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 dash. Day 2 is the 110 high hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 run.

West has done a lot of the events individually — he was the 400-meter and 400 hurdles state champion in high school and a state runner-up in the long jump — but the pole vault is foreign to Iowa prep athletes.

Although he’s “steadily improving,” the pole vault continues to be a work in progress.

“The pole vault is definitely my weakest event,” he said. “I score my points other ways ... I can make it up in other events.”

Although he’s seeded third in the event, he’s not focused on his overall finish — yet.

“I’m going to try to be as fast as I can in the 100 and see where I go from there,” he said. “I just want to put 10 events together as best I can, something I can be proud of.”

But finishing in the Top 8 — an All-American finish — is in the back of his mind. He had to withdraw because of injury from last year’s NCAA outdoor meet and has placed 10th and 13th in the last two heptathlon indoor championships.

“First team All-American would be a good way to end the season,” he said.

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