The Decathlon for Women

Becca Peter is a really cute nerd!
She is passionate about the Pole Vault, and in fact calls her Twitter page "PoleVaultPower".
But in recent weeks--besides her tweeting on every major PV competiton, Men or Women--you may have seen her tweets or Facebook messages about the Decathlon for Women that took place on June 30th & July 1st in Grass Valley, CA!!
(Join her FB group about the Women's Decathlon!  Lots of famous names have joined!)

Over the years--nay, decades!--there's been talk (arguments!) about the NEED for a Dec for Women!
The naysayers state they already have the Heptathlon, with its own long & worthy history!
INdoors, it's the Pentathlon!
(If this is successful, do we next see an INdoor Hept for Women---bringing on a certain equality with the Men??)
The latter is one reason Women want a Decathlon for their sex---and why some MEN don't!!

Readers of this blog are familiar with my promotion, and FULL coverage!---of the 50000 Walk for Women at 2017's WC in London!!
And of my RAGE at the kidnapping of the last two Women from the course---even though they'd finished over 40K at that point!!

No such rage about Becca's Dec!
(I call it Becca's Dec because she organized and promoted it, and even put out prize money from her own pocket!!)
But this was also an event (or 10 of them!!) for the ATHLETES!
They had two divisions (at least!)---a Masters, and an Open!
This post will be concerned with the Open Division ONLY!!
(If you read my blog, you know I don't cater to Masters, Youth, or Junior labels in all of T&F either--so no difference with the Women's Dec!)

Finding data on the Women's Dec is rather difficult--especially Records & Marks--which this blog is most concerned with, of course!
For example, while Becca provided me with a LONG list of A-T Americans, Wikipedia had just the Top 10 A-T for the World Women's Dec!!

A few notes on what this post will cover--and what it won't (or can't!).
I've already culled a Top 24 A-T list for the US from the longer list Becca provided!
Using the Wikipedia Top 10 World list, I added another 14 marks from my US list!!
Thus, my World list is NOT the actual list of the Top 24 A-T Performers for the World!!
I have no doubt that there are more than 10 World marks that are better than those other 14 I added!!
As with my previous additions of the INdoor 300 & 600, and the Relays OUTdoors, these Women's Dec lists are a "work in progress"!
Also, as with the 50K Walk for Women, once more than one competition of any consequence is held, I have no doubt these lists will be RADICALLY revised!!
The WR, the AR, Age Records, National Records, Place Records, will all be drastically altered over the next 2 or 3 years---IF there are some "major" competitions held for this Multi!
(Will Gotzis or Talence add a Women's Dec to their program??)

Also, as it becomes more competitive, we'll almost certainly see some BIG names give it a whirl!
The Grass Valley comp's only recognizable name (by me!) was Laura Marty, a pretty fair PV'er at Duke!!
(She wore her Duke shirt during her pre-meet interview!!)
BTW, as with all other events, if a Women's Dec is held AFTER the NCAA meet, any marks recorded will NOT be eligible for Collegiate Records or Lists!!

Anyway, please keep in mind that ALL of the following data is INCOMPLETE!!
As time goes on, I will update my lists,and any other Records or Marks, and report them in this blog!
Onward!

First, SOME results from the Grass Valley Women's Decathlon---
Morgan Griffiths won, scoring 5939 points.
Second was Anna Lee McGregor, with 5786 points.
3rd went to Hannah McPhee's 5503 points.
Fourth was Brysen Stately's 5016 points.
The only other 5000 points scorer was 5th placer Lauren Kuntz, who totaled 5005!
(Laura Marty--sadly--was a DNF after the 3rd event, with a slight injury!)
Leading after Day 1 were---
McGregor, with 3164 points.
Griffiths, with 3160.
McPhee with 2996.
Stately, with 2983.
And Kuntz, with 2489.
(Marty was 3rd after 3 events, with 1807 points!)

The Women's Decathlon runs their events in a different order than the Men!
The first day (in order) has the 100, DT, PV, JT, and the 400.
The second day has the 100H, LJ, SP, HJ, and the 1500!

Despite "experts" opinions to the contrary, I see absolutely NO reason that the events can't follow the exact same order as the Men!!
The order was apparently set by the IAAF---an organization not always known for its brilliant ideas and strategies--or its leadership!!

My Top 24 lists!
As noted, I have them for the US and World only!
Tiffany Lott-Hogan is the American Record holder with 7577 points, dating from 2000.
Two others topped 7000--Kim Schmierman's 7184, and Brianna Eveland's 7064!
A VERY famous name--Stacy Dragila!!--just missed, scoring 6999 points in 1997!
As of right now, there are 4 marks dated 2018 on this list---but not all of them from the CA meet!!
Griffith's mark ranks 11th.
McGregor's PR is from 2014, when she scored 6110 points!
McPhee's 5503 ranks her 22nd A-T US, but tied with---Laura Marty!!--the latter scoring her 5503 in 2015!!
Liz Rotti scored 5551 points earlier this year, ranking 20th on the US list!!

MY World list---before I added those US marks--was similar to my HS 3000SC list for Women!
That list has just 14 marks on it.
I COULD have stuck with Wiki's Top 10, and left it at that!
But I wanted to have a Top 24 list, so added those US marks!
As noted above, I have NO doubt that list will change---a LOT--in 2019 and 2020!!
But as of now, the WR holder is Austra Skujyte's 8358 points, dating from 2005!
Marie Collville's 8150--from 2004--is the only other 8000-plus score!
Irina Karpova's 7798 dates from 2004!
Then follows Lott-Hogan's 7577!
Again, with those added US marks, 24th place on the World list is a Woman with the last name of Leslie, her 5689 dating from 2007!
Only two marks from 2018 make the World list--a Woman with the last name of Hill scored 6539 points earlier this year, and Griffith's 5939!

I also have Class Records for HS'ers!
(Provided with that deep US list from Becca!!)
Last names only---
Frosh Record is Bramwell's 5200, from 2012.
Hanson has the Soph & Junior Class Records--her 5379 from 1981 being the Soph mark, and her 5640 from 1982 being the Junior Class mark!
The Senior Class Record---and HSR!!--belongs to Leslie's 5676 from 2013!!
(What would Kendell Williams---or Emma Fitzgerald, or Anna Hall, or Sterling Lester---have scored if they'd given it a try while in HS??)

Ms Peter---I know her best as "PVP"!!---did a brilliant and tireless job putting this baby together!!
I can't imagine all the work---and hours & days & maybe months!!--it took out of her life to do this!
And I KNOW all the athletes---and fans of this event--thank her sincerely!

But the future of this event depends on more than one person!!
It will take more money---not the $500 Becca gave from her wallet for First Place---and better known athletes (with all due respect to those valiant pioneers who gave it their all in Grass Valley!)--and official sanctions & Record ratification status from the IAAF and USATF!!

Thankfully, no one was kidnapped from the track or fields of play by the Director!
Everyone who could--finished!!
And was proud to have taken part!
As with those 50K Walk pioneers, those Women who competed last weekend should feel proud to have done so---and their names will go down in history!!

Records get broken--and I have no doubt the WR and AR will soon fall!!
And many--if not EVERY!--name on my lists will one day be erased from those lists!!

As with all those other "new" events for Women---the TJ, HT, 5K, 10K, 3000SC, the Marathon--the early historic names that "began" the march to excellence--will have disappeared!
(Or maybe they won't!!  After all, the WR for the Women's Heptathlon still dates from 1988!!!)

In future blog posts, you can count on me to report ANY & ALL changes to my lists that emerge---from actual competitions, or from further research & discovery!

See you soon with my post on the Lausanne DL, and whatever else is worthy of reportage!