A week after losing a heptathlon competition by no-heighting in the pole vault, UAA's Cody Thomas set a school record in that event to secure a berth in the NCAA Division II indoor track and field championships.
Thomas, a junior from New Zealand, racked up a personal-best score of 5,338 points to place fifth in the men's heptathlon at the University of Washington Invitational in Seattle.
Thomas set school records in the pole vault (12 feet, 9.5 inches) and 60-meter hurdles (8.27 seconds) and ran to a career-best in the 1,000 meters (2:47.89) on Saturday.
Combined with the school records he set Friday in the high jump and 60 meters, Thomas surpassed his previous-best heptathlon score by 434 points and topped the NCAA's automatic qualifying standard by 38 points.
Only one college athlete beat Thomas on Saturday -- Oregon's Mitch Modini, who placed second with 5,510 points. The winner, Jeremy Taiwo, trains at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, California, and was a member of Team USA at the 2013 world track championships. He dominated the weekend competition with 6,344 points.
Also on Saturday, UAA's Jamie Ashcroft posted a provisional qualifying time in the women's 60 meters with a time of 7.68 seconds.