ALL-NWADG BOYS RUNNER OF THE YEAR: JOEY SAUCIER, ROGERS HERITAGE

All-NWADG Track: Saucier carries on Heritage decathlon tradition

Joey Saucier, Rogers Heritage; boys track runner of the year.
Joey Saucier, Rogers Heritage; boys track runner of the year.

ROGERS -- Rogers Heritage senior Joey Saucier didn't perform as well as he wanted near the end of the year, but he still became the third consecutive War Eagle to win the Arkansas High School Decathlon.

The 6-foot, 195-pounder provided a great combination of speed and power on the football field. He also won the 100 meter dash and long jump at the Class 7A state track meet. Saucier was honored as the All-NWADG Boys Runner of the Year for his accomplishments.

Profile

Joey Saucier

School: Rogers Heritage

Class: Senior

Height: 6-foot

Weight: 195

Notable: Became the third consecutive Rogers Heritage athlete to win the Arkansas High School Decathlon. … Won the long jump and 100 meters at the Class 7A state meet as a senior. … Won the long jump at the Meet of Champions as a junior. … Will play football at the United State Air Force Academy.

He fell short of a few personal goals this season, but Saucier was pleased to carry on the Heritage tradition in the decathlon. He followed teammates Alex Miles and Daniel Spickes as decathlon champions.

"It was a challenge," Saucier said. "It was fun. It was really not like I was competing against those other guys. I was competing more against Alex and Daniel."

That didn't come without a challenge or two, including a clerical error when his performance in the long jump -- one of his top events -- was entered erroneously. Heritage track coach Jay Miles knew something was amiss when Saucier was not leading after the first day according to the scores.

Saucier actually jumped 22-5. His jump was entered as 5.83 meters, when the actual jump was 6.83 meters -- quite a difference.

But Saucier, who will play football at the United States Air Force Academy, used a personal-best throw of 132 feet, 2.5 inches in the discus to take control on the second day. He finished with 6,012 points, 122 ahead of Donnell West of Lake Hamilton.

Throughout all the challenges, Miles was pleased with Saucier's mental approach.

"We talked about him growing up and being a different person this year," Miles said. "He maintained a great attitude through it all. It was a roller-coaster ride for sure."

Sports on 06/09/2015

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