Arizona track and field's only decathlete heads to Westwood, Calif., Friday, where he will be competing against the best multi-event athletes the Pacific 10 Conference has to offer in the Pac-10 Combined Events Championships.
Jake Arnold, the sophomore decathlete from Santa Rosa, Calif., has been on a roll of late, posting a personal record three weeks ago at the Mt. SAC Relays with 7259 points.
In addition to competing in the UCLA-hosted Combined Championships, Arnold qualified for the NCAA West Region Championships in Eugene, Ore., May 27-28 because of the personal record.
Arizona head coach Fred Harvey said he believes that Arnold, who currently holds the Pac-10's No. 2 mark in the decathlon, has a legitimate shot to compete for the title.
"It's the Pac-10 Championships, so you're going to get real good competition there," he said, "but I feel pretty good about his chances."
Harvey said that even though Arnold scored a personal record at the Mt. SAC Relays, he was struggling with tendonitis throughout the competition. That led Harvey to believe that Arnold has yet to reach his full potential.
"(Assistant coach Eric) Boxley and him talked it out, and made him feel more comfortable, and he ended up with (the personal record)," he said. "But that was not his best multi."
Arnold's main competition hails from the University of Oregon in the form of junior Andy Young, who currently holds the top mark in the Pac-10 with 7329 points, but Harvey said Arnold needs to forget about Young and focus on the events at hand.
"The multi is really interesting, because it's always about (the individual athlete)," he said. "With (Arnold) the trick is not necessarily getting him focused on the guy next to him, but (instead) gathering as many points as (he) can."
With Arnold competing in a variety of events this past weekend in Tempe in the ASU Double Duel, he geared up nicely for the upcoming meet.
Among the highlights for Arnold was a third place showing in the pole vault with a mark of 16-0 3/4, and another third place finish, this time in the javelin (179-9). He also placed fifth in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.81 seconds.
Harvey said two events will likely dictate how Arnold fares in the upcoming competition: the long jump and the shot put.
At the ASU meet, Arnold placed seventh in the long jump (20-6 1/2), and didn't compete in the shot put.
Harvey said all the events he took part in at Tempe would have a positive influence on the upcoming combined championships.
"At the Pac-10s we fully expect him, especially with the way he looked at the ASU meet, to have as good an opportunity as anyone out there," he said.