Multi-events athletes by definition get a lot done in a short amount of time, as UAA decathlete Cody Thomas confirmed Sunday and Monday.
The senior All-American on Sunday afternoon walked across the stage at the Alaska Airlines Center to collect his diploma, then flew to Washington State, woke up Monday morning and promptly dominated the first day of his signature event.
Thomas, from Blenheim, New Zealand, won all five events in Day 1 of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference's Track and Field Multi-Events Championships at Saint Martin's University in Lacey.
Thomas broke GNAC championships decathlon records in the high jump (6 feet, 7.5 inches) and 400 meters (48.00 seconds), the final event on Day 1, in accumulating 3,971 points. Thomas' high-jump effort topped the previous standard of 6-6.25 by Saint Martin's Jaysen Yoro in 2015 and his 400 time shattered the previous championships-best 49.89 by Central Washington's Michael Morrison in 2004.
Also, Thomas posted the top marks in the six-man field in the 100 meters (11.05), long jump (22-5.75) and shot put (39-8).
With 3,971 points on Day 1, Thomas is 42 points ahead of his pace at the NCAA Division II outdoor nationals in 2014, when he delivered a career-best 7,189 points in the 10-event grind and finished seventh.
Thomas is a three-time All-American in multi-events. Besides his 2014 outdoors honor, he finished third in the heptathlon at indoors nationals this year and was runner-up indoors in 2015. He was voted UAA's Athlete of the Year in 2015.
Thomas is seeking his third GNAC outdoor title – he won in 2014 and 2013.
Through Day 1, Thomas leads the GNAC field by 533 points. He already has qualified provisionally for the NCAAs with a score of 7,079 points that ranks him seventh this season in Division II. The Division II automatic qualifying standard is 7,100.
Sunday, with his parents in attendance from New Zealand, Thomas graduated with a bachelor's degree in management and marketing. According to UAA officials, Thomas' parents traveled to Lacey to watch their son compete.
Meanwhile, UAA's Rosie Hewitt, who Sunday attended graduation to collect her diploma in political science, sits in fourth place after Day 1 of the seven-event heptathlon. Hewitt owns 2,442 points, one more than fifth-place Ali Anderson of Central Washington.
The GNAC decathlon and heptathlon competitions conclude Tuesday in Lacey.
Reach Doyle Woody at dwoody@alaskadispatch.com and follow him on Twitter at @JaromirBlagr