Moore bounces back from injury for third at NCAA Championships

AUSTIN, Texas — Senior Gabe Moore battled back from an injury at the SEC Championships to earn an All-American finish in the decathlon to close out his career Thursday night at the NCAA Championships.

Moore capped a spectacular career with a third-place finish in the Decathlon scoring 7,780-points over 10 events to ear his First-Team All-American honors.

Following a runner-up finish at the Indoor Championships, Moore trekked through the regular season eying a chance to earn the SEC title.

An untimely injury during the pole vault at the SEC Decathlon caused Moore to score zero points in two events and left him with a fifth-place finish at the conference meet.

A month later, Moore returned to action at the NCAA Championships to close out his career on a very high note.

“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for him for that kind of effort over the last two days,” said coach Chris Bucknam. “He was unable to complete the Decathlon at the SEC meet which was devastating enough for him as a senior, that was a tough pill to swallow. But our training staff jumped right in a went to work.

“I can’t say enough about our medical staff and the hard work and dedication they put in with Gabe to get him back to competition shape. Between Mario [Sategna] and our training staff, they did a fantastic job of getting him ready to go physically and mentally in a little over three and a half weeks.

“Not only did Gabe do everything he could do but he did it with a smile and a great attitude. He never doubted his coach or the rehab that he went through to get back.

“I know this was a meet he wanted to win, he was the runner-up at the indoor meet, but to go through what he did at the SEC meet and battle back to a third-place finish was one of the great efforts I’ve seen in my coaching career.

“I’m really proud of him, and can’t say enough about what he did for this program and his teammates.”

Moore posted marks of 15.02 (110mH), 46.21m/151-7 (discus), 4.41m/14-5.50 (pole vault), 59.53m/195-3 (javelin), and 4:44.34 in the 1,500-meters.

Arkansas will return to the track tomorrow where the 4×100-meter relay, Cameron Griffith in the 1,500-meters and the 4×400-meter relay will compete in the finals of the NCAA Championships.