University of Tennessee Athletics
Former Vol Harris Leads American Decathletes in USA-Germany Matchup
August 02, 2003 | Men's Track
Aug. 2, 2003
FORMER VOL HARRIS LEADS AMERICAN DECATHLETES INTO USA VS. GERMANY MATCHUP Seven of America's brightest young decathletes square off against a team of German multieventers Saturday and Sunday in the 11th annual USA vs. Germany Team Decathlon. This year's USA vs. Germany meeting takes place in Bernhausen, Germany. The scores of the top-five Americans and Germans are summed to crown the team champion.
Former Vol and 2003 NCAA decathlon champion Stephen Harris leads the American contingent with his lifetime-best score of 8,103. While the talent field available is diluted this year as each nation will save its elite decathletes, i.e. Americans Tom Pappas, Bryan Clay and Paul Terek, for the IAAF World Championships in September, the teams should be a little more evenly matched than in some recent years.
The German talent pool includes three who have eclipsed the 8,000-point barrier, while the Americans only boast two over that watershed mark. However, the middle and lower parts of the U.S. lineup boast slightly better lifetime bests than the same section of the German roster. German Florian Schonbeck's 8,127-point career best leads all competitors.
The aforementioned Harris leads the Americans into the competition. Connecticut's 2003 NCAA decathlon runner-up Will Thomas, former Georgia star David Lemen, 2000 NCAA champ Bevan Hart, Andy Geisler, Jamie Cook and Travis Geophert join Harris in the fray for the Americans. They may have to pick up some slack for the former Vol as Harris is still recovering from a minor calf injury that could knock some points off the four-time All-America's score. Kansas State's Cliff Rovelto coaches the American squad. Claus Marek directs the German delegation.
The USA vs. Germany Team Decathlon began in 1993 with the Americans taking the first round in Aachen, Germany by a 39,353-38,292 count, a 1,061-point differential. From 1994-2000 the meet scores ran much closer, the only exception being an American win in 1996 back on the home turf of Edwardsville, Ill.
However, the 2001 and 2002 USA vs. Germany meets have been blowouts. In 2001, the Germans whipped the Americans by 2,614 points, the biggest point differential in the series, in Bernhausen. However, led by winner and former Vol Pappas, the Americans returned the favor and trounced the Germans by 2,091 points in 2002 in Walnut, Calif. The series record stands 7-3 in favor of the Americans.
