BATON ROUGE — The 2000 SEC decathlon champion, Claston Bernard, will open his 2001 outdoor season on Thursday at the College Station Multis on the campus of Texas A&M.
Bernard, a 2000 Olympian, will compete in the two-day, 10-event competition on Thursday and Friday in what he hopes is the start of another All-American campaign. The junior has won the SEC title in the decathlon in each of his first two seasons and was the NCAA runner-up in the event a year ago. He was selected by Track and Field News as the preseason NCAA pick to win the event.
Bernard opened his 2000 season by winning the College Station Multis under dreadful conditions last year, posting a then-personal best total of 7,506.
The addition of the decathlon event at the Tigers move outdoors only bolsters a roster that was already strong enough to win the NCAA Indoor title last weekend.
The rest of Bernard’s teammates open up at home on Saturday with the SEC Triangular at Bernie Moore Track Stadium featuring LSU, Florida and Ole Miss. Field events get underway at 10 a.m., while track events start at 12:45 p.m.