Aggies’ Noble Finishes Second In The Decathlon Thursday At WAC Track And Field Championships

RUSTON, La. – Utah State junior Philip Noble finished second in the decathlon as day two of competition wrapped up Thursday at the Western Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Louisiana Tech’s Jim Mize Track and Field Complex in Ruston, La.

Noble collected first-team all-WAC accolades and was joined on the podium by sophomore teammate Jon Goble, who finished sixth and earned second-team all-WAC honors.  With 6,828 points, Noble not only posted a career-high point total, but also registered the eighth-best output in USU history.

“Overall I did pretty well. There were a couple of events that I wasn’t too happy with.  The vault I can go higher than I did. I was disappointed in that one,” Noble said.

Despite finishing runner-up, Noble was pleased with his performance.

“I’m really happy with it. (Kurt) Felix is amazing,” Noble said, crediting WAC decathlon champion Kurt Felix of Boise State.  “Hopefully next year I’ll get everything together and do a little better.”

In the women’s heptathlon, junior Camille Fehlberg was eighth, while freshman Shalyse Olsen placed 11th and Brianne Campbell finished 13th.

The USU multi-events athletes’ performances impressed veteran Aggie head coach Gregg Gensel.

“They all did great today,” Gensel said.  “Philip Noble showed some true grit to battle back and win the 1,500 to finish second overall.  I’m extremely pleased with everyone’s efforts and we’re off to a great start of the conference championship meet.”

Noble was in second-place for most of the day, but dropped to third after nine events before winning the 10th and final event, the 1,500m, with a time of 4:30.99, breaking the tape 16 seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

“I wasn’t worried about the placing because I knew that I had fast times and the time I ran today wasn’t even a very fast time for me,” Noble said.  “I was really trying to get 7,000 points overall.  I was shooting for that mark, but I didn’t quite get there.”
 
Thursday marked the first time since 2007 that someone other than Utah State’s John Strang stood atop the podium, as Boise State’s Felix won the decathlon with 7,412 points, the most points in winning the WAC title since 1996 when Marcus Nichols from Air Force recorded 7,723 points. 

Felix is also the first non-Utah State athlete to win the decathlon crown since 2005, as USU’s Logan Moore won the title in 2006 and then Strang collected the crown  in 2007, 2008 and 2009 for the Aggies.  However, the three-time champion was still present, as Strang is a USU assistant coach.  Strang is only the second-ever three-time WAC champion in the conference’s history, joining Tito Steiner of BYU, who won the decathlon crown from 1977-79.

Noble and Goble’s finishes gave USU nine points overall, leaving the Aggies trailing Boise State and Fresno State by one point after the first team event. Felix’s win collected 10 points for BSU, while Fresno State athletes were third and fourth, combining for 10 total points. 

On the women’s side, Idaho leads with 19 points, followed by host Louisiana Tech with eight points and Hawai`i with five points. Nevada is in fourth-place with four points, New Mexico State is fifth with two points, and Utah State is in sixth-place with one point from Fehlberg’s eighth-place finish.

Noble opened action Thursday by finishing second in the 110m hurdles, clocking a 15.53 while Goble was fifth with a 16.41 time.

Goble won the discus with a season-best toss of 38.40m (126-00) while Noble was fourth with a 31.04m (101-10) mark, also the top mark of the season.  In the pole vault, Noble tied for second by clearing 4.45m (14-07.25) and Goble was just behind in fourth with a height of 4.05m (13-03.50).

Noble and Goble were fifth and sixth in the javelin with marks of 41.41m (135-10) and 40.91m (134-03), respectively.  Noble’s javelin finish had bumped him down to third-place overall entering the 10th and final event, but the junior won the 1,500m with a time of 4:30.99, while Goble was fifth in a 5:13.00 time.

In the women’s heptathlon, Fehlberg finished eighth with 4,284 points while Olsen was 11th with 4,118 points and Campbell was 13th with 3,646 points.

Fehlberg improved her standing in part from her performance in the javelin and 800m, finishing second in both, with a mark of 37.30m (122-04) in the javelin and a 2:28.89 800m time.  She was also tied for 11th in the long jump with a mark of 4.77m (15-07.75).

Olsen was seventh in the long jump with a 5.08m (16-08.00) mark, ninth in the 800m, clocking a 2:38.34 and was 13th in the javelin with a mark of 24.65m (80-10).

Campbell was ninth in the long jump with a 5.04m (16-06.50) distance, 11th in the javelin with a 25.06m (82-03) mark and did not finish the 800m due to an injury.

Field events and running events get underway Friday with the women’s pole vault at 11:30 a.m. (MT) and the men’s 3,000m steeplechase at 2 p.m. (MT).

The Aggie men are defending their 2009 WAC Championship while the Aggie women’s team is looking to improve off last year’s fourth-place finish, their second-straight fourth-place finish.

Live results for the 2010 WAC Championships are available by clicking on the “Live Results” link at www.utahstateaggies.com.

WAC Championships
May 12-15, 2010
Ruston, La.
Utah State Results

MEN’S DECATHLON

Final points – 2. Philip Noble, 6,828 pts.; 6. Jon Goble, 6,217 pts.

Dec. 110m Hurdles – 2. Philip Noble, 15.53; 5. Jon Goble, 16.41.

Dec. Discus – 1. Jon Goble, 38.40m (126-00); 4. Philip Noble, 31.04m (101-10).

Dec. Pole Vault – T2. Philip Noble, 4.45m (14-07.25); 4. Jon Goble, 4.05m (13-03.50).

Dec. Javelin – 5. Philip Noble, 41.41m (135-10); 6. Jon Goble, 40.91m (134-03).

Dec. 1500m – 1. Philip Noble, 4:30.99; 5. Jon Goble, 5:13.00.

WOMEN’S HEPTATHLON

Final Points – 8. Camille Fehlberg, 4,284 pts.; 11. Shalyse Olsen, 4,118 pts; 13. Bri Campbell, 3,646 pts. 

Hep. Long Jump – 7. Shalyse Olsen, 5.08m (16-08.00); 9. Bri Campbell, 5.04m (16-06.50); T11. Camille Fehlberg, 4.77m (15-07.75).

Hep. Javelin – 2. Camille Fehlberg, 37.30m (122-04); 11. Bri Campbell, 25.06m (82-03); 13. Shalyse Olsen, 24.65m (80-10).

Hep. 800m – 2. Camille Fehlberg, 2:28.89; 9. Shalyse Olsen, 2:38.34 ; Bri Campbell, DNF.