Chico State’s J. Patrick Smith is a three-time national champion in the decathlon.
Former Dos Pueblos Charger J. Patrick Smith won his third-straight NCAA Division II championship in the decathlon on Friday in Allendale, Michigan while competing for Chico State.
“The first one was kind of out of the blue,” Smith told Lenny Padilla of NCAA.com. “The second one, I wasn’t the favorite and the third one [here], I came in with a bullseye on my back. So it was pretty stressful, but I’m glad I had these two guys with me through the whole thing.”
Teammates Teddy Elsenbaumer and John Brunk gave the Wildcats three of the top six spots in the decathlon, finishing second and sixth, respectively.
Smith had earned the country’s N0. 1 seed in the decathlon thanks to a 7,351-point performance Apr. 4-5 at the Sam Adams Combined Events Invitational at Westmont College in Santa Barbara.
On Friday in Michigan, Smith scored a career-best 7,645 points and set a school record in the process.
Smith, who was a Santa Barbara County champion in the long jump and triple jump as a high school senior, graduated from Dos Pueblos in 2009.
Before the national championships, Smith was recently named the West Region Field Athlete of the Year by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Nick Scarvelis, UCLA Track & Field – Another Dos Pueblos grad, Scarvelis captured his first Pac-12 title in the shot put last weekend for the Bruins. Scarvelis threw 63 feet and 10.25 inches. The sophomore’s best throw of the season came on May 4th against USC. traveling 64′ 4.5″.
Scarvelis added a sixth-place result in the discus at the Pac-12 Championships, held in Pullman, Washington, with a throw of 174-2.
Next for Scarvelis is the NCAA Far West Regional in Fayetteville, Arkansas from May 29-31.
Chloe Madill, Dartmouth Softball – Madill completed her rookie campaign at Dartmouth with 42 starts in 44 games. Still a high school senior at this time last year, Madill posted the fifth-best batting average for Dartmouth. Madill was a major contributor for the Big Green, who won their first ever Ivy League Championship and reached the NCAA Regional.
In the Ivy League championship series, Madill batted second in the lineup and recorded a double in the title-clinching 7-3 win over Penn.
Jack Perry, Northwestern Golf – Perry, the leader of the Santa Barbara High team that won a CIF State Championship in 2010, finished third overall at the Big West Championships in early May. The 72-hole tournament was played at the Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind.
Perry spoke with the Daily Northwestern after the tournament.
“Individually, if I don’t win Big Tens, it’s not a success,” Perry said. “There was a lot of encouraging golf, I just had some silly bogeys, which I’ve had the last few tournaments and I need to get sorted out. Obviously I’m happy with third place, but to never get a Big Ten championship ring either with the team or individually is a bust that will go on my golf career no matter what I do.”
Perry and Northwestern then wrapped up their season at the NCAA Regional in San Antonio. The Wildcats failed to advance by finishing in 12th, while Perry was 35th individually.
