Wichita State coaches recognized Adria Navajon's talent when they entered him in the heptathlon at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in February.
However, coach Steve Rainbolt admits, they could not know how Navajon would handle the two-day event. Navajon had not completed a heptathlon in his year-plus at Wichita State.
"We knew he was good," Rainbolt said. "We had not seen him make his way through a multi-event competition. Putting it together is a challenge. We stacked it on that guy, and he handled it unbelievably."
It worked in February, when Navajon scored 5,616 points to win the conference title, and Rainbolt is confident it can work again.