Eastern Oregon University’s TJ Davis competes in the long jump at the Eastern Oregon Multi-Events meet on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, at Banner Bank Track in La Grande. Davis earned a first-place finish in the men’s heptathlon at the 2022 NAIA Indoor Track and Field National Championships in Brookings, South Dakota on March 5.

BROOKINGS, S.D. — In one of track and field’s most difficult competitions, a local college track athlete recently earned top marks in the nation.

TJ Davis, in just his second year at Eastern Oregon University, took home the individual national championship in the men’s heptathlon at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, March 5, in Brookings, South Dakota. Davis set personal records in six of the seven events en route to scoring 5,439 points, finishing his indoor season on top.

“I just hardly even remember much after the 1,000 and stepping on the podium,” Davis said of his reaction to winning the heptathlon. “It took about an hour before I calmed down a little bit and it set in.”

Davis came into the national championships as the top-ranked heptathlon athlete, but his journey to first place saw improvement over time. The junior started his career at Spokane Falls Community College, before finishing seventh in the heptathlon for Eastern just one year ago.

The track athlete noted that when making his decision to transfer from community college, the NAIA standards and previous scores gave him confidence that he could compete for a title.

“A big part of the reason he came here was to win national titles,” Eastern head coach Ben Welch said. “We had a history in the multis of people contending and winning, so that was a big reason he came here. It’s good to see it come to fruition.”

Davis put together a stellar showing with the season on the line, breaking his own personal records in nearly every event — the junior also set his own record for total points accumulated in the heptathlon.

Davis took first in the long jump (6.97 meters), shot put (13.47 meters) and 60-meter hurdles (8.24 seconds). The 1,000-meter run clinched the finals for Davis, as he earned a second-place finish with a time of 2:41.42. He took fourth in both the 60-meter run (7.21 seconds) and high jump (1.92 meters), while placing fifth in the pole vault (4.15 meters).

Davis’ title was not officially validated until the competition concluded with the 1,000-meter run, as Carroll’s Lee Walburn was still on his heels in the standings. Davis managed to place high enough in the race with a second-place finish to secure his top spot in the heptathlon standings.

“He was competing on a whole other level,” Welch said. “That guy from Carroll came after him. It was a lot of fun because he came ready to really put it out there, but so did that guy from Carroll. He kept his poise throughout and here we are.”

Just one year ago, Davis scored 4,746 points to place seventh in the heptathlon as a sophomore. He noted that the training regime did not change much this past year, sticking to a similar model and work ethic.

“It really doesn’t feel like I did that much differently,” Davis said. “I just kept doing the same thing and I trusted that my coaches were going to give me the right spot. I knew that I had the physical capabilities of putting up some good numbers. I just had to work on getting those numbers.”

“There’s the old saying that ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ We tried to just make adjustments to what we were doing before,” Welch said.

The heptathlon is considered one of track and field’s most difficult events, combining a versatile set of skills and talents. Davis noted that every day of training is different, but that a typical week is a meticulously planned set of workouts to improve the range of skills required of the heptathlon. From morning weight lifting to training on the track to pole vault practice on alternating days, Davis and Eastern’s multi-athletes train to improve on every level of the event.

“There’s no choice but to be well-rounded,” he said.

As Davis transitions into his junior outdoor track campaign and into his senior season next year, the Mountaineer has his eyes set on making history. His score from the NAIA National Championships is 342 points off of Robbie Haynie’s school record of 5,781, which was set 10 years ago.

“That’s a good goal for me. I want to stay here and get that,” Davis said. “I’ve been looking at his marks since I came in — they’re unbelievable. I want a school record, which means I have to break a national record.”

Welch said no one has come close to that mark at the national meet since it was set in 2012.

“That is the next goal,” the coach said. “Obviously defending his title will be part of it.”