BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – University of South Alabama freshman Mikel Magnusson surged ahead from 21^st to 14^th on Saturday in the second leg of the 2012 USATF Junior Outdoor Track & Field Championships men’s decathlon with a personal-best 6,332 points.
 
A fifth-place finish in the pole vault and two seventh-place finishes in the javelin and 1,500-meter run, respectively, gave Magnusson the essential boost to surpass his previous high of 6,215 tallies – the seventh best in the event at the Sun Belt Conference Championships in May.
 
In a tight race that expired with a mere 100 points separating Magnusson, two unattached athletes and representatives of Rice and Southern California, the Fort Payne (Ala.) graduate completes an inaugural season highlighted by a top-10 finish in the men’s heptathlon (7 events) at the conference indoor championships in February with 4,476 points - USA’s fifth-best all-time mark.
 
Derek Westbrook is slated to wrap up competition for the Jaguars on the campus of Indiana on Sunday, set to run the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 4:30 p.m. Results from the final day’s race will be posted to the Jaguar athletics webpage immediately following the event.
 
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).