Hicks wins decathlon at Pelluer Invitational

The Daily Inter Lake

CHENEY, Wash. - He's already proving his worth.

Just a freshman with the University of Montana track and field team, Whitefish's Chris Hicks showed Friday why he was a special recruit by winning the 36th Pelluer Invitational decathlon at Eastern Washington University.

In second place after Thursday's five events, Hicks had an exceptional Friday - winning all five events.

He finished with 6,385 points, which easily meets the Big Sky-qualifying standard of 5,246 points.

Idaho's Ian Snook, the day-one leader, finished second with 6,239 points, while Eastern Washington's Jordan Oswald placed third with 5,740.

Hicks narrowed Snook's lead to 27 points when he opened the day with a time of 16.69 in the 110-meter hurdles. He took the lead for good in the seventh event with a throw of 105-9 in the discus.

Hicks continued to extend his lead the rest of the way by clearing 13-9 1/4 in the pole vault, throwing the javelin 165-11 and turning in a time of 4:31.5 in the 1,500 meters.

Hicks had Thursday's top performance in the high jump (6-3 1/2) and the 400-meter run (52.95). He posted an 11.93 in the 100 meters to open the decathlon, then went 20-3 1/2 in the long jump and 34-3/4 in the shot put.

For Whitefish High School at last May's Class A state track meet, he won the triple jump and high jump, along with earning a long jump silver medal and a fourth-place in the 300-meter hurdles. He also helped lead the Bulldogs' 1,600 and 400 relay teams to gold and silver, respectively. All told, he put his legs into 50 of the team's 86 points. It gave him and the Bulldogs their second State A track meet team victory in three years.