CORVALLIS, Ore. – Buoyed by a pair of lifetime bests in his final two events, sophomore Tyler Brendel posted a score of 7,413 Sunday to finish third in the decathlon at the Pac-12 Championships.
 
Brendel's total was a personal best and moved him up to eighth in school history in the grueling, two-day event.
 
"Tyler stumbled in the pole vault, which is one of his better events, but had two huge PRs in the javelin and 1500 meters," Director off Track & Field Tony Sandoval said. "The 1500 was so incredible. His score moved him up to 22nd in the nation, and if Tyler can smooth out a couple of events, he'll do very well at NCAAs in the month."
 
Brendel, who stood in fourth position after day one, opened his Sunday with a time of 14.25 second the 110-meter hurdles – the fastest of any of the eight competitors. He then posted a mark of 112-1 in the discus and 14-1.25 in the pole vault, which was more than a foot below his season-best height.
 
However, Brendel came through in the final two events. First, he threw the javelin 167-4, precisely 15 feet further than he'd ever gone before. A short time later, he finished second the 1500 meters in 4:16.28, a nearly nine-second improvement from his previous PR.
 
Oregon decathletes claimed the first two spots, with Mitch Modin producing a score of 7,530 and teammate Joe Delgado second with 7,432.
 
The rest of the Golden Bears will be back on the track next weekend for the remaining events at the Pac-12 Championships, which will be contested Saturday and Sunday at Oregon.