After a disappointing score on the pole vault, Benjamin J. Barton (BS ’26) thought the NCAA decathlon national title was out of reach. To win he would need personal records in each of the final two events. He threw a personal best—by eight feet—on his second javelin throw (pictured), which put the gold medal back in view. All that stood in his way was the 1500m.
“I just ran as hard as I could, and it just barely turned out to be enough,” Barton says. He passed the decathlon points leader, Kenneth Byrd, and crossed the finish line over nine seconds before him. Barton saw his family cheering in the stands next to the finish line. “They were screaming their heads off,” he says. “I didn’t really even see the scoreboard. I just figured they were cheering because I won the event.” But with his finish in the 1500m, Barton set another personal record and won the decathlon by nine points.
Assistant track and field coach Tiffany Lott Hogan (BS ’98) says Barton entered the season determined to become a national champion—and put in the work to get there. “He’s been a student of the sport.”
4:32.61
Barton’s title-clinching time in the 1500m.
8,169
Points Barton scored in the 2026 national championship decathlon—the second highest score in BYU track history.
45
Years since BYU’s last NCAA decathlon champion.
