California State University, Chico, is a decathlon powerhouse as a Division II program

John Brunk, one of the assistant coaches for the California State University, Chico, track and field program, had to step away for a moment as Aaron Martin lined up for an attempt at the high jump during the decathlon Thursday on the opening day of the NCAA Men’s Division II Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Martin jumped and clipped the bar, but there was no coach to turn and look at.

He walked away from the runway and off to the side where Phillip Bailey, one of his three Chico State teammates competing in the decathlon alongside him, was waiting to give pointers. Bailey was sidelined by a hamstring injury, so for now he could truly be a de facto coach.

“Where we lack as a team,” said Jason Dunn, another of Chico’s decathletes competing this weekend at IMG Academy, “we don’t really lack because someone is there to push us through.”

The path to a shot at a decathlon national championship was similar for all of the Wildcats’ foursome. Each one could pinpoint a handful of events they excelled at during high school in California, where decathlon was not a part of the standard high school track and field regimen. Bailey was a sprinter and jumper. Martin did the high, triple and long jumps, and ran cross country. Dunn did the long jump, some sprinting events and some distance events. Lane Andrews, the fourth, ran the 400-meter dash, the 300 hurdles, the 110 hurdles and competed in the high jump.

On Thursday, they competed in the 100 and 400 dashes, the long and high jumps, and the shot put. They’ll begin their final five events at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, when they’ll compete in the 110 hurdles, the discus throw, the pole vault, the javelin throw and the 1,500 run. The overall national championships, which include both men and women, will wrap up Saturday at IMG Academy Field.

Putting together a team like Chico’s is a study in talent identification, and this is where Hanf thrives. He wrote his master’s thesis about the decathlon, and plucked all four of these athletes from a variety of high schools and junior colleges throughout the state to put together a nearly unprecedented feat. To the best of the foursome’s knowledge, only one other team has ever sent four decathletes to the Division II National Championships.

“The last couple years we brought in some good athletes, and we kind of had the goal this year to become the powerhouse and take four guys,” Martin said. “And it ended up happening, which is kind of crazy.”

Only three will still have a chance to win a state title — Bailey, who finished fourth in the nation two years ago, was sidelined by a hamstring injury three events into Thursday’s competition — but this weekend is already a unique peak for a program which has become the go-to school for decathletes.

The commitment starts at the top with Hanf and spreads through the entire coaching staff in Chico. Most of the staff has experience with multi-events, including assistant coach John Brunk, who finished fourth in the decathlon for Chico State in 2012. The school even hosts a multi-events meet every year.

Chico recruits decathletes and has become one of the most consistent producers of talented multi-sport athletes in the nation because of it. From 2012-14, J Patrick Smith won three consecutive national titles for the Wildcats. They’ve had someone place at the national championships every year since 2010 and won the California Collegiate Athletic Association as a team in 12 of the past 13 seasons.

So the focus trickles down to the entire team. The four national qualifiers live together in California and there’s almost always some decathlon chatter flying around the home. The culture is what has turned Chico State into one of the nation’s true decathlon powers, regardless of division.

“We talk track, we live track,” Dunn said. “Everything that goes around the house is track.”

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 8:25 PM with the headline "California State University, Chico, is a decathlon powerhouse as a Division II program."