Modin, Delgado ride wave of support to 1-2 finish

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- University of Oregon teammates Mitch Modin and Joe Delgado, both raised east of the Cascades in Oregon, have known each other since grade school. 

At the Pac-12 multis, which kick off the conference championships, Modin and Delgado went 1-2 in the decathlon Saturday and gave the Ducks an 18-point head start going into next weekend's main event at Hayward Field. 

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Modin, who scored a lifetime-best 7,530 points, went to the same Bend, Ore. high school (Mountain View) as two-time Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton. Delgado scored 7,432 points, also a personal best. Tyler Brandel of Cal scored 7,413 for third place and Isaiah Oliver of Colorado was fourth with 7,394.

Modin and Delgado were supported by 40-50 teammates who made their way up the freeway from Eugene.

"Outside of winning, that was the best thing that happened here," Modin said. "They showed up during the pole vault. Without them, I don't know if I could have made those two third-attempt makes. Without them I don't know if I throw the best series I've ever had in javelin. I don't know if I don't give up on the third lap (of the 1,500) and don't win a Pac-12 championship without them surrounding the track and yelling for me, so I can't give them enough thanks."

The multis were held at Oregon State's new Whyte Track and Field Center but even though the Beavers are technically hosting the Pac-12 Championships, the seating at the facility has not yet been constructed. So the remainder of the meet is next Saturday and Sunday in Eugene. 

Alissa Brooks-Johnson of Washington State reclaimed the conference heptathlon title that she won in 2015. She redshirted in 2016. Brooks-Johnson had a 40-point lead on Oregon State's Kara Hallock going into the final event, the 800 meters. 

Brooks-Johnson finished ahead of Hallock in the final event and scored 5,638 points to push her winning margin to 87 points. 

Hallock's second-place finish was the highest for an OSU woman at a conference championship since the school brought the program back in 2006. Teammate Saskia McNairy was seventh, giving the Beavers 10 points.

UCLA's women grabbed 12 points out of the event with a 4-5-6 finish from Christina Chenault, Kendall Gustafson and Monique Van.