June 27, 1999
EUGENE, Ore. - Former Golden Bear star Chris Huffins captured the decathlon title with 8,350 points at the 1999 USA Track and Field Championship Friday at Hayward Field.
Huffins won his second-straight national crown by defeating Tom Pappas (8,187 points) of the University of Tennessee and Dan Steele (7,938) of the U.S. Army, who finished second and third, respectively
Huffins, Pappas and Steele will join defending world champion Dan OBrien, also of the U.S., at the World Track and Field Championships in Seville, Spain, later this summer.
In addition to Huffins, two other athletes with Cal ties performed well in the U.S. decathlon race is Eugene, Ore. Former Bear Ross Bomben, th 1997 and '98 Pac-10 champion in the decathlon, climbed from ninth after the first day of competition to finish sixth (7,735), while current Bear junior Bevan Hart, who placed third in the decathlon at the NCAA meet earlier this month, moved from 12th to eighth (7,716) in his first appearance at U.S. nationals.
