Ben Barton crossed the line at Hayward Field with nothing left to give, and it was enough. The BYU senior won the NCAA decathlon by nine points, closing two days of competition with a personal-best 8,169 and the narrowest of margins over Kenneth Byrd of Louisville. The title was decided, as the whole meet had promised, in the tenth and final event.
Ten events, one closing lap
Barton set the terms early. Through five events on the opening day he totalled 4,414 points, winning the 100 metres in 10.65, the high jump at 6 feet 11¾ inches and the 400 metres in 47.25. He finished third in the long jump at 24-3½ and 13th in the shot put, holding a substantial 138-point lead over his nearest rival, Duke's Maxwell Forte, heading into the final five events.
The second day narrowed everything. Byrd, a sophomore, worked his way to the front of the standings, and by the last event the lead had changed hands. Heading into the 1500 metres Barton trailed Byrd by 50 points and needed to beat him by over seven seconds to claim the championship. He ran 4:32.6 and made up the difference on the track, overturning the deficit in a single lap-by-lap effort. Nine points separated first from second when the arithmetic was done.
Barton was measured about how it had come together. "Coach Hogan put me in a really good spot to take the title today," he said. "I made a few mistakes in some areas but was able to make up for it in others and ultimately win it."
Forty years in the making
The result carries weight beyond the scoreboard. Barton is the first BYU athlete to win the decathlon since Tito Steiner in 1981, and the first American to win it in a BYU jersey. His mark had further value on the season's ledger. The score was the collegiate lead of the season and the second-highest by a BYU decathlete in program history.
For Barton himself, it read as a clear step up. He had built toward it patiently: a sixth-place finish in the 2025 NCAA decathlon with 7,777 points, an eighth place in 2023 with 7,815, and the school indoor heptathlon record of 5,944. Each season edged the total higher. This one, in his final race for the Cougars, delivered the title.
He is a new father, and the win reached beyond Eugene. His wife Clara stayed home to care for their three-week-old son, and together with baby William watched Barton beat the field on television.
Ten events, two days, one closing lap. Barton had waited for the room, and then he took it.
