Idaho native Peyton Bair cruises to NCAA decathlon title, targets world finals
A year after finishing second, Idaho native Peyton Bair dominated the decathlon field at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships this week and cruised to the national title.
Bair, a 2020 Kimberly High grad, racked up 8,323 points at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, recording the 14th-highest score in NCAA history and finishing 435 points ahead of second place for the comfortable victory.
The clear-cut win made him the first American-born athlete to win the NCAA decathlon since 2011.
“It’s about time an American won it again,” Bair told reporters Thursday night.
The Mississippi State sophomore all but wrapped up the decathlon title after Wednesday during the first day of the two-day event. But he continued to rack up points Thursday to etch his name in the record book.
He placed first and set NCAA decathlon records in the 100 (10.25 seconds) and 400 meters (46.00 seconds) on Wednesday. He also recorded personal bests in the javelin (57.87 meters, fourth place) and the long jump (7.28 meters, fourth place). And he set another personal best in the 1,500 (4:35.69, 10th place), the final event, with the national title all but clinched.
“I was happy with the Day 1 performance, but there are still five more events to do,” Bair said. “I was only halfway done with the job. So I just had to stay focused.
“I didn’t have the hurdle race I wanted, but I was able to come back and throw a lot better than I had. So I’m happy with those performances.”
This week’s title adds to the indoor national heptathlon championship Bair won in March, making him just the seventh male athlete in NCAA history to finish first in both events in the same season.
But Bair doesn’t plan to rest and celebrate anytime soon. He told ESPN after the final event that he’s already focused on the U.S. Track and Field Outdoor Championships in six weeks back in Eugene. That meet will serve as the qualifiers for the World Athletics Championships in September in Tokyo.
“God willing, I get top 3’s in the USAs, and I’ll be in Tokyo in September,” Bair said.
Bair’s title was the second in three years for Idaho natives at the NCAA track and field championships. Borah High grad Nathan Green won the 1,500 in 2023 and qualified for the finals again Friday.
Bair won 10 high school state track titles at Kimberly and leads an athletic family from Southern Idaho. One brother, Jaxon, is a decathlete at Arkansas. Another, Gatlin, was a five-star football recruit who signed with Oregon but is currently serving a church mission.
MORE IDAHO ALL-AMERICANS
- Boise High grad Rosina Machu took seventh in the women’s 10,000 meters with a personal-best time of 32:15.49. The Gonzaga junior made the All-American first team.
- The decathlon field included a second Idaho native, Emmett High grad Landon Helms. He finished ninth for Boise State with 7,696 points, earning second-team All-American honors.
- Columbia High grad Logan Hammer finished 13th in the pole vault at 17 feet, 9.75 inches for his third All-American honor.
- Boise State sophomore Hanna Ackerman recorded a personal-best time of 9:54.21 to finish 16th in the women’s steeplechase, earning a spot on the All-American second team.
This story was originally published June 13, 2025 at 12:39 PM.
