Trey Hardee aiming high

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Trey Hardee is a long time PVP member...

http://www.statesman.com/sports/content ... ardee.html

UT TRACK & FIELD
Hardee aiming high
UT ex and current USA decathlon champ gunning for strong showing at World Championships.

By Randy Riggs
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, August 15, 2009

Trey Hardee never envisioned himself as a decathlete. As a young athlete, he saw only the pole vault in his future.

He certainly didn't see himself doing the pole vault, as well as the other nine events that comprise one of the most grueling tests in athletics.

And he doubts his story is unique.

"I'm pretty sure not many decathletes chose the decathlon," said Hardee, the former Longhorn who's the reigning U.S. decathlon champion and a strong medal contender at the world championships that start today in Berlin.

"I would guess it's very, very few (who actively pursue a decathlon career)," he added. "Usually it's a coach who'll suggest it or just circumstances."

Steered to the decathlon by his Mississippi State coaches before he transferred to Texas in 2005, Hardee's ascent has been meteoric. At last year's U.S. Olympic trials, his second-place total of 8,534 points put him on the U.S. team and elevated him to No. 8 on the all-time U.S. decathlete list.

The decathlon is 10 events: the 100-meter run, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters on the first day; the 100 hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters on the second. A competitor's best performance in each event is assigned points.

Hardee, 25, enters the world championships, where he'll compete on Wednesday and Thursday, on a roll. In May, he posted his second-highest point total, 8,516, to finish second at the Hypo-Meet in Gotzis, Austria, just 6 behind Germany's Michael Schrader.

What made Hardee's first European competition especially noteworthy was his great meet without his personal coach. Mario Sategna, a UT assistant who helped mold Hardee into the NCAA record-holder with 8,465 points at the 2006 Texas Relays, was with the Longhorns instead.

"That was a very big stepping stone for him," Sategna said. "Instead of a coach telling him things, he had to make decisions on his own."

Less than a month later — a relatively short recovery time — Hardee won his first U.S. national championship. In Eugene, Ore., he scored 8,261 points to win by 186 despite suffering severe hamstring cramps in the 1,500 finale. He managed only 471 points in the event, with a time of 5 minutes, 16.01 seconds.

"I wasn't going to dog it," he said of the 1,500, "but about 300 meters in, my right hamstring started to grab, and it just got worse and worse.

"I took a deep breath, said like a two-second prayer and thankfully it all worked out."

Hardee is one of six former Longhorns who will compete at Berlin's Olympic Stadium. Track & Field News projects him to win a bronze medal behind Leonel Suarez of Cuba and Andrey Kravchenko of Belarus. The Texas ex most likely to win a gold medal is Sanya Richards, the U.S. record-holder in the 400 meters.

The other former Longhorns competing are Michelle Carter (shot put), Marshevet Hooker (200), Leonel Manzano (1,500) and Andra Manson (high jump).

This marks just the second major international meet for Hardee. The first ended badly when he failed to clear an opening height in the pole vault at the Beijing Olympics and dropped from fourth place, out of the competition.

"That's the worst learning experience you'd ever want," Sategna said.

The pole vault — Hardee's original event — has been the root of some of his most difficult days as a decathlete.

He has a decathlon best of 17 feet, 41/2 inches (1,004 points) in the event. Yet at the 2006 NCAA championships, he took a 423-point lead into the pole vault, the eighth of the 10 events, but failed to clear his opening height of 15-9 and wound up finishing ninth overall.

"It's been an event he's struggled with at times," Sategna said. "You don't want to turn a blind eye and not discuss it."

Hardee remains confident in his vaulting ability. He thinks continuing his path up the decathlon ladder depends on making improvement in the throwing events.

As he improves, Hardee admits he's uncertain what he is capable of accomplishing. He hopes to compete through the 2016 Olympics, when he'll be 32 years old. He wants to take a serious shot at the American record of 8,891 points set by Dan O'Brien in 1992. He won't even dismiss a run at the world record of 9,026, set by Roman Sebrle of the Czech Republic in 2001. Hardee's personal bests in all 10 events, set at different meets, add up to about 9,030 points.

"So there's a glimmer of hope," he said. "When I first started, I thought 8,000 (points) was impossible. When I got to 8,000, I thought 8,500 was impossible."

And now?

"Who's to say?" Hardee said. "As long as I'm healthy, I'd like to say the sky's the limit."