An All-Conference Day 2 Push

NORTHFIELD, Minn. (5/04/18)---Matt Bye used personal best marks in three of the five events on Day 2 of the MIAC decathlon to jump from fourth to second place in the final standings.

Bye's runner-up performance is his highest finish at a conference multi-event and his final total of 6,173 points is a career best and the eighth most in school history. His second-place finish also earns him MIAC All-Conference honors in the event.

Bye's final point total is also the most by a Cobber in his first-ever MIAC decathlon. He bettered the old mark debut mark of 5,986 set by All-American Adam Strainer in 1999.

Bye was joined by junior Brett Brenden at the MIAC decathlon. Brenden scored at least 450 points in all 10 events and finished in sixth place with a total of 5,475 points. Like Bye, that total is a career best for Brenden.

Bye scored at least 570 points in all five events on Day 1 of the event held at Carleton. He then started the second day by blistering the track with a 15.58 in the 110-meter hurdles. That time was the fastest of any competitor in the meet and is the fourth fastest time run by any athlete in the MIAC in the event this year.

Bye's time netted him 781 points which was his highest scoring event of the meet.

Bye then posted a distance of 116-01 in the discus which earned him 571 points before clearing a PR height of 12-05.5 in the pole vault. That height gave him 562 points which was the lowest total of the 10 events.

Bye finished off the decathlon by putting up a personal-best mark of 165-09 in the javelin. That distance was the top by any athlete at the meet and eighth best in the MIAC this season.

Bye completed his first-ever conference decathlon by running his first-ever sub 5-minute 1500 meters. He crossed the line in a time of 4:56.81 which was good enough to hold on to second place in the final standings.

All told, Bye recorded seven season best marks and tied another as he recorded the eighth highest decathlon score in program history. 

Brenden's two highest scoring events came on Day 1 where he eclipsed the 600-point mark in both the long jump and high jump. Brenden recorded a distance of 20-01.75 in the long jump and then cleared 6-0 in the high jump. He was one of only two athletes in the decathlon to clear the 6-foot mark and his height is the eighth best by any competitor in the MIAC this year.

Final MIAC Decathlon Standings
1. Preston Huddleston – St. Thomas – 6,446
2. Matt Bye – Concordia – 6,173
3. James Moyer – Bethel – 6,051
4. Eli Knutson – St. Olaf – 5,548
5. Evan Traynor – St. Thomas – 5,547
6. Brett Brenden – Concordia – 5,475
7. Jordan Johnson – St. Thomas – 5,426
8. Tyler Adler – St. Thomas – 5,412
9. Liam Sullivan – Carleton – 5,279
10. Chris Frick – St. Olaf – 5,133
11. Billy Retza – Macalester – 4,943
12. Kyle Stichman – Bethel – 4,835