TUCSON--Baseball's loss was track and field's gain when Jake Arnold decided on a sport. Why do one thing when you can do ten?
A senior from Santa Rosa, Calif., Arnold has become Arizona's second two-time Pacific-10 Conference decathlon champion. He defended his title last weekend at the track and field multi-event championships at Stanford.
This weekend, he'll compete in "only" four events -- pole vault, javelin, 110 meter hurdles and 4X4 relay -- at the Pac-10 Track and Field Championships, also at Stanford.
Arnold broke away from the field in the pole vault and left runner-up Ashton Eaton of Oregon 632 points behind in winning the league decathlon title last weekend.
Events in the decathlon are 100 meters, long jump, shot put, high jump, 400 meters, 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters.
Derek Huff (1988 and '89) is Arizona's other Pac-10 decathlon champion.
A fifth-year senior who graduated last May with a degree in Retail and Consumer Sciences, Arnold won the pole vault (16 feet, 11 inches) and the javelin (197-feet, 2 inches). He was clocked in 14.55 seconds in the 110 hurdles , threw the discus 120 feet, 11 inches and ran the 1,500 meters in 5 minutes, 7.40 seconds. He amassed 7,755 points in the ten events. The decathlon is a two-day event, with five events per day.
Arnold's total would have been greater but "I saved my legs in the 1,500 meters because my team needs me to do well this weekend." His best time at 1,500 meters is 4:31.
As a kid, Arnold played centerfield and pitched in baseball. He also played basketball.
But he was so good at pole-vaulting he decided to stick with track and field. An arm injury -- he suffered a fracture while snowboarding -- led him to the decathlon.
"I was a senior when I broke my arm," he said. "I couldn't vault that spring so I tried the hurdles."
And? "I broke the school record. I didn't think I was good enough to compete nationally in the pole vault, but as a decathlete I felt I could compete. I enjoyed all the events and besides -- I didn't want to get bored.
"So I decided to come to Arizona as a walk-on."
Wildcat coach Fred Harvey thinks Jake could walk on water. Well, almost.
"What he's done is remarkable," Harvey said. "Jake is a great young man and the neat thing is, he's one of those guys who walked on, worked very hard and became successful. I'm extremely fortunate to have him here at UA."
The decathlon is considered the ultimate challenge for the athlete, who competes against himself and the scoring tables. The idea is to accumulate more points than your competitors. It takes a combination of mental toughness, a winning attitude, grit and physical ability to succeed.
Arnold has it all.
"I really enjoy the decathlon," he said. "I feel more confident in it. I feel that I can have more success than if I were in only one event.
"My best decathlon score was 7,946 at Louisiana State five weeks ago. I was actually on pace to beat that mark at the Pac-10 Multi-Event Championships, but I had a bad day in the discus."
His score at LSU qualified him the Olympic trials next year. Arnold plans to turn professional after the NCAA Championships.
"I'll compete in the U.S. Nationals and if you can finish in the top three there, you qualify for the World Meet in Osaka, Japan. I'm standing No. 5 right now so I have a good chance to qualify for the World."
Arnold credits Harvey and Sheldon Blockburger, Wildcat assistant coach, for his development. "Sheldon is our jumps coach," Arnold said. "He was a decathlete himself at LSU and he's very good. "He came in last year and taught me what the decathlon is all about.''
Arnold won the NCAA decathlon in 2006 and is quick to point out, "Coach Blockburger had a lot to do with that."
Depending on the size of the field, a decathlon lasts five to six hours. "In between you have about half an hour to warm up," Arnold said.
Jake, a 6-foot-3, 195 pounder, has an interesting recovery routine. "I eat and drink during the throws to get my strength back," he said. "You obviously couldn't drink or eat anything during a run."
When he's through as a player, Arnold plans to compete in the work world. "I interned with Nike two years ago ?- the athletic Department got it for me -- and hopefully I can go to work for that company again," he said.
