Michigan Adds World-Class Owens to 2019-20 Roster
7/8/2019 1:56:00 PM | Men's Track & Field
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan track and field head coaches Jerry Clayton and James Henry announced Monday (July 8) the addition of Ayden Owens, one of the best young decathletes in world history, to the squad's roster for the 2019-20 academic year and beyond.
A rising sophomore both academically and athletically, Owens (Wexford, Pennsylvania) comes to Ann Arbor after a season at Southern California as one of the world's top multi-event athletes, an All-American and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year.
He ranks No. 3 all-time among under-20 (U20) athletes worldwide with his decathlon score of 8,130 points, placing him No. 16 on the 2019 overall global descending order list for the event. As a dual American-Puerto Rican citizen, he owns that commonwealth's national record and has represented the island at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships.
Owens finished sixth in the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships heptathlon with a score of 5,809 points and qualified to compete in the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
"We are very excited to welcome Ayden into the Michigan track and field program," Clayton said. "Coming out of high school he was at the top of our list of potential future Wolverines, and his first year in the NCAA was proof of the potential we saw. Being able to utilize the coaching and resources at Michigan will only help him continue to grow as a top-tier athlete and a top-tier student."
Owens excels in all components of the multi-events, but is particularly strong in the sprints and jumps. His official time of 13.76 (+0.0) in the 110-meter hurdles -- good for third in the Pac-12 Outdoor Championships final -- ranks 28th among all collegians in 2019, and his best long jump of 7.53m (24 feet, 8.5 inches) (+1.0m/s) places him 89th in the country.
"The speed and hurdling events are definitely his strengths, but he's so young in a lot of the other events that we feel there is a lot of growth to happen there still, even though he has already posted such impressive scores," said jumps and multi-event assistant coach Jenni Ashcroft, who will be Owens primary coach during his time at Michigan.
During her time at Oregon, Ashcroft worked with eventual Olympic champion and world record-holder Ashton Eaton during his formative collegiate years.
"Having been around Ashton as he was blossoming into a world-class decathlete at Oregon, I am reminded of him in a number of ways as I've observed Ayden and seen what he's accomplished so far in his young career."
Owens' potential on the track and in the field is matched by his potential in the classroom. After graduating North Allegheny High School with a cumulative grade-point average above 4.00, Owens chose biomedical engineering as a focus of his undergraduate studies. U-M checked in at No. 9 on the U.S. News and World Report's list of "Best Undergraduate Biomedical Engineering Programs."
"He brings so much to the table for our program both as a student and an athlete, so we are very excited to have him join the Michigan track and field family," Ashcroft said.
Owens is set to build on the recent run of decathlon success in Ann Arbor, as Steven Bastien and Jack Lint finished fourth at the NCAA Championships in 2017 and 2019, respectively. Both Bastien and Lint also were transfers into the Michigan program.
Ayden Owens Notables
• Career multi-event bests of 8.130 points in the decathlon and 5,809 points in the heptathlon
• Puerto Rican U20 record holder in the decathlon
• No. 3 all-time on the worldwide U20 decathlon list
• No. 2 on the 2019 NCAA decathlon descending-order list
• No. 16 on the 2019 worldwide decathlon descending-order list
• Pac-12 Freshman of the Year
• Sixth-place finisher in the 2019 NCAA Indoor Championships heptathlon
• Qualified for the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships decathlon
• Represented Puerto Rico at the 2018 IAAF U20 World Championships in the decathlon
Players Mentioned
