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FLYIN' HIGH: JAKE ARNOLD BEGINS DEFENSE OF NCAA DECATHLON TITLE TODAY DATE: Wednesday, June 6, 2007 BYLINE: By ERIC BRANCH THE PRESS DEMOCRAT Before he was an NCAA champion and Olympic hopeful, Jake Arnold was a little-used outfielder on the Maria Carrillo High junior varsity baseball team. A natural athlete who lived to play, even the notion of sitting in a dugout disgusted him. So Arnold, a freshman, told the coach he was quitting. He then left the diamond, marched over to the school's track and, standing between the pole-vault pit and high-jump mat, asked co-coach Colin Davidson if he could join the team. Davidson was intrigued. There were only a few weeks left in the track season. He asked Arnold why he quit playing baseball. And the kid's response gave Davidson the first clue that he might be dealing with a unique athlete. ``I don't want to sound cocky,'' the 5-foot-8, 130-pound Arnold said, ``but I don't sit the bench.'' Eight years later, Arnold still isn't sitting, but is sprinting, leaping, vaulting and throwing his way into NCAA history. Title defense begins today Arnold, a 6-foot-3, 193-pound redshirt senior at the University of Arizona, begins defense of his NCAA decathlon title today at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Sacramento State. If Arnold prevails, he will become just the second decathlete to win back-to-back NCAA DivisionI titles, joining George Mason's Rob Muzzio, who won in 1984-85. A second national championship would also add to his laundry list of accomplishments. A two-time Pac-10 champion, Arnold, 23, finished third at the 2006 U.S. Outdoor Championships, broke Arizona's heptathlon record this past fall and is a candidate to become one of three American decathletes to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Bejing. Not bad for a former walk-on who didn't earn a full athletic scholarship until his senior season, after he'd earned an NCAA title. Improbable rise Arnold's improbable rise is a testament to two qualities he displayed as a frustrated freshman baseball player: Belief in his ability and a knack for making the best of a bad situation. ``I've just never had the mindset that it's over,'' Arnold said. ``Even if I'm coming up on my third attempt on the pole vault, and I've almost no height, and the deacathlon's almost out the door, I always believe that I'm going to make it. I've always had the mentality that I'm never giving up.'' For most of his high school career, Arnold, who also lettered in soccer, basketball and football, was a pole vault specialist who also starred in other events such as the relays and high jump. His versatility was obvious, but his future as a decathlete didn't clearly emerge until he broke his arm while snowboarding before his senior track season. The pole vault was no longer an option. But instead of sitting out for two months, Arnold got creative. He tried the hurdles, leaping over them with a cast on one arm. His cast came off during the season, but Arnold didn't leave his newfound event. He set school records in the 110 high hurdles and 300 intermediate hurdles and qualified for the state meet in the 300 hurdles and pole vault, two events with little in common. It was the equivalent of earning advanced degrees in mechanical engineering and English poetry. ``I thought if he can handle the pole vault and the hurdles,'' Maria Carrillo coach Dan Aldridge said, ``I knew he had what it took to be a decathlete.'' But Aldridge's expectations were modest. He thought Arnold could stick on the team at Arizona and travel to away meets. Even the ultra-confident Arnold wasn't forecasting greatness, admitting that he was initially wide-eyed when he arrived at Arizona as a 168-pound freshman. His teammates were so talented, casually clearing dizzying heights in the pole vault during practice. Arnold called his dad, Mike, and asked him `What am I doing here?''' After his freshman season, Arnold underwent shoulder surgery and took a medical redshirt season. A year later, he came back for his sophomore season and turned a few heads, finishing sixth at the Pac-10 Championships and 19th at the NCAAs after no-heighting in the pole vault. It was enough to get 75 percent of his tuition paid for. But he was still just a solid college athlete preparing to get a 9-to-5 job after school. An NCAA title? The Olympics? Those weren't goals, just pipe dreams. Transformation begins But Arnold agrees his tranformation began when assistant coach Sheldon Blockburger came to Arizona before his junior season. Blockburger, an SEC decathlon champion at LSU who starred internationally, has coached three other national champions and also trained U.S. decathlete Paul Terek in San Luis Obispo before Terek qualified for the 2004 Olympics. Blockburger sized up his new pupil.First impressions? Arnold was the ``weakest decathlete'' he'd ever met. He also had terrible technique. And, later, Blockburger discovered Arnold partied at least as hard as he practiced. But there were also positives. Blockburger saw that although Arnold wasn't an exceptional athlete, he compensated by not having a glaring deficiency in one event. Most importantly, Blockburger discovered Arnold had qualities that can't be coached -- a rare blend of fearlessness and competitiveness. He challenged Arnold to sweat more and party less. ``We've tried to curtail his nightime activities, which has been a fight,'' Blockburger said. ``We've got it somewhat under control -- Jake is understanding what it takes to be great. He's bought into the idea that sleep is important, not something you do for three or four hours during the day.'' Terek, 27, who began training with a different coach when Blockburger left for Arizona, says the no-nonsense Blockburger is the perfect coach to lead Arnold to greatness. Mentally strong ``It takes a certain type of athlete to excel under Blockburger,'' said Terek, who first met Arnold in 2003. ``You can't be a mental midget because Sheldon's going to tear you down. But Jake's mentally strong enough to handle that. He's very strong-willed. Once he puts his mind to do something, he's going to get it done.'' The proof arrived last year when Arnold entered the NCAA Championships ranked sixth, another decathlete expected to finish behind defending champion Trey Hardee of Texas. He trailed Hardee by 423 points entering the eighth event, the pole vault. Hardee no-heighted. And Arnold finished second, clearing the way for an upset. Two weeks after his NCAA title, he placed third at the U.S. Championships in Indianapolis and finished the year ranked fourth in the nation. Now a year after arriving at the NCAA Championships as an underdog, he enters today as the favorite. His life has changed. His priorities are shifting. And, suddenly, greatness could await. ``I couldn't imagine winning one title,'' Arnold said. ``Now going for a second one? It's a little mind-blowing.'' You can reach Staff Writer Eric Branch at 521-5268 or eric.branch@pressdemocrat.com. DID YOU KNOW? The decathlon is a two-day event designed to ascertain the best all-around athlete. Each athlete must sprint for 100 meters, long jump, heave a 16-pound shotput, high jump and run 400 meters -- in that order -- on the first day. On the second day, each athlete runs a 110-meter hurdle race over 42 inch barriers, hurls the discus, pole vaults, tosses a javelin and, at the end of the contest, races more than 1,500 meters, virtually a mile. . SCHEDULE NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships Decathlon schedule: Today: 100 meters, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, 400 meters Thursday: 110 Hurdles, Discus, Pole Vault, Javelin, 1,500 Meters Note: Decathlon events start at 10 a.m. each day. SIZING UP THE COMPETITION A look at the top decathletes at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Point totals represent athletes' top mark this season: 1. Jake Arnold Arizona, Senior, 7,946 2. Raven Cepeda Northern Iowa, Junior, 7,838 3. Chris Helwick Tennessee, Senior, 7,732 4. Neil Hines Iowa State, Senior, 7,508 5. Brandon Hoskins Liberty, Junior, 7,463
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