Landon Holt scored 5,852 points in a decathlon Sunday to meet the NAIA national “B” standard, becoming the second Brescia University track and field athlete to qualify for the NAIA national championships and first since Matt Lowe qualified in 2013.
Holt, a junior social work major from Dawson Springs, finished third in a field of primarily NCAA-level competitors at the All-Ohio Multi Event championships hosted by Muskingum University.
“It was a daunting task at first, but once I settled in and started competing in the events I’ve been preparing for over the last few weeks, it became more comfortable,” Holt said. “Once I started racking up some points, things started clicking and I became more comfortable. Right now, I’m exhausted, but I’m happy with how it went.”
Holt said meeting a national mark was a longstanding goal.
“It feels awesome,” he said. “It’s something I’ve hoped for ever since I signed with Brescia, and hopefully as the season continues, I can qualify in a couple more events.”
En route to his qualifying mark, Holt broke five school records and two meet records. Decathletes compete in 10 running, jumping and throwing events across two days. Holt bested his own school record in the 100- and 400-meter dashes and set new marks in the 110-meter high hurdles and pole vault, as well as setting the school mark in the decathlon.
Brescia track and field head coach Luke Stoffel said the performance was an accomplishment but also a starting point.
“I’m excited about it,” Stoffel said. “There were some solid marks, and Landon has several performances in field events that are just scratching the surface of what he’s capable of, so next time he competes there’s a chance to improve a good deal.”
Stoffel said he’s looking forward to seeing what the remainder of the season brings, and he was particularly pleased with the way Holt competed at 1,500 meters. The final event of the decathlon, that race was the furthest from the Holt’s comfort zone — his primary events are sprints and jumps — but Stoffel said Holt might get a look in that event in the upcoming River States Conference Championships.
The weekend’s contest was Holt’s first career decathlon, and Brescia sprint, jump, and multi-events coach Brooks Rexroat said he handled the test with skill and poise.
“Landon showed a perfect demeanor across the event, which is hard to do; he kept calm during success and quickly brushed off the couple of small setbacks he encountered,” Rexroat said. “His running performances exceeded our expectations, and we saw growth and a building confidence as the field events pressed on. This was a steady performance, something he can build on in the coming weeks, and Landon has placed himself in the national conversation.”
On Saturday, Holt’s results in the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot-put, high jump and 400-meter dash allowed him to close out day one in third place with 3,242 points.
Sunday morning, he picked up where he left off with strong performances in the 110-meter high hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500-meter run.
The 2019 NAIA National Championship meet will be held May 24-26 in Gulf Shores, Ala. Holt and his Brescia track and field squad return to action Saturday at the Bellarmine Classic in Louisville.
