With Winters not factoring in heptathlon team scoring for Americans based on decision made prior to event, Germany wins for first time since 2009, then completes overall sweep in Texas with fourth straight victory in decathlon showdown and 10th in past 11 meetings; Hawkins, West triumph for U.S.

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Despite several fantastic finishes Sunday in the heptathlon women’s 800 meters and decathlon men’s 1,500 meters at the 28th edition of the Thorpe Cup, one of the biggest factors in the outcome of the team competition involving the United States and Germany occurred before the meet in Dallas even started.

Despite Chari Hawkins becoming the first American female athlete to capture the Thorpe Cup heptathlon individual title since 2017 with 6,152 points at Turner Stadium at St. Mark’s School of Texas, the U.S. women had their run of 10 straight victories against Germany halted as a result of a decision made Friday at the technical meeting.

Melanie Winters, who finished as the No. 3 American athlete and seventh overall with a personal-best 5,727 points, was not declared in advance of the meet by the coaching staff as one of the top five potential scorers for the U.S. lineup among its eight available competitors on the roster.

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Since Winters didn’t factor into the overall team scoring, Germany wound up accumulating 17,596 points based on the performances of its top three heptathletes and the Americans scored 17,537 points, resulting in the U.S. enduring its first loss in the series since 2009.

Had Winters been included as a potential scorer for the meet, the Americans would have prevailed and extended their impressive streak with 17,678 points.

Allie Jones of Stanford, who placed eighth overall with 5,586 points, was instead counted as the No. 3 scorer for the U.S. to support Hawkins and fifth-place finisher Sarah Glidden, a Duke assistant coach who achieved a personal-best 5,799 points.

There were no such factors involved in the men’s team showdown, with Germany winning for the fourth straight meeting and 10th time in the past 11 matchups, prevailing by a margin of 35,844 to 34,389 points based on the scores of the top five decathletes from each country to secure the overall sweep of both titles.

Austin West, an Iowa sophomore, relied on a personal-best 4:25.03 in the 1,500 meters to remain close enough to Germany’s Malik Diakite (4:24.12) to secure the individual decathlon crown with 8,062 points.

Diakite placed second with a lifetime-best 8,051 points, eclipsing the 8,000-point barrier for the first time, and American Jack Flood – the leader entering the 1,500 – clocked 4:40.47 to take third with 7,977 points.

West became the first American decathlete to triumph at the Thorpe Cup since Steven Bastien won in 2018 in Knoxville, Tenn. Hawkins was the first U.S. heptathlon winner since Alex Gochenour prevailed in 2017 in Dusseldorf.

It marked the first time since 2016 that the Americans boasted both individual winners at the two-day event, with Scott Filip and Chantae McMillan securing victories in Fayetteville, Ark.

Hawkins led from wire to wire in the heptathlon, maintaining her first-day advantage despite not winning an event Sunday.

The Americans did sweep all three individual competitions on the second day, with Duke graduate Erin Marsh producing a second-round mark of 20-7.25 (6.28m) to earn the long jump victory.

Callie Jones of Texas Tech launched the javelin 160-1 (48.81m) on her first attempt and Glidden ran a lifetime-best 2:10.64 to win the 800, improving on her previous top effort by more than four seconds, despite competing in 100-plus degree weather.

Marsh finished ninth with 5,576 and Callie Jones placed 10th with 5,497.

But the depth of Germany placing three athletes overall in the top four was enough to overcome Hawkins’ victory and capture the team championship.

Anna-Lena Obermaier was runner-up with a lifetime-best 5,936 points, Nevada-Reno graduate Nicola Ader missed equaling her career-best performance by one point to take third with 5,835 and Janina Lange finished fourth with 5,825, just five points off her personal-best performance from 2020.

Max Vollmer, an Oregon athlete, was victorious in the men’s javelin for Germany with a 206-9 (63.03m) effort, joining Diakite as an individual winner Sunday.

Flood triumphed in the 110 hurdles in 13.99 for the Americans, along with being one of four athletes to clear 15-5.50 (4.71m) in the pole vault, in addition to U.S. teammate Dylan Cooper and German competitors Marcel Meyer and Diakite.

Cooper was victorious in the discus with a mark of 154 feet (46.94m).

Although the Americans won seven of the 10 individual events, Germany demonstrated its depth with five athletes placing in the top eight overall.

Vollmer finished fourth with 7,884 points, the 21-year-old Meyer completed his first senior level decathlon to place fifth with 7,862 points, Nils Laserich was seventh with a personal-best 7,803 points and Nico Beckers earned eighth with 7,690 points.

Cooper secured sixth for the Americans with 7,858 points, Jackson Walker finished ninth with 7,158 and William Eggers placed 11th with 6,381, still completing all 10 events despite not clearing his opening height in the high jump.