Matt Bye qualified for his second straight NCAA National Outdoor Meet in the decathlon.
Matt Bye qualified for his second straight NCAA National Outdoor Meet in the decathlon.

Bye Officially Headed To NCAA Meet

MOORHEAD, Minn. (5/18/19)---Junior Matt Bye will hoe the old adage "the third time's the charm" holds true as he has been officially accepted into the NCAA National Outdoor Championship Meet.

Bye earned his third straight NCAA Championship Meet multi-event berth and will be looking for his first All-American honor at the national meet hosted by the University of Mount Union in Geneva, Ohio. It will also be his second consecutive national meet appearance in the decathlon. Bye earned his latest trip to the NCAA Meet by winning the decathlon at the MIAC Championship Meet.

Bye scored 6,586 points in the 10 events at the conference meet. That total is No.9 in Division III this season with the Top 20 qualifying for the national meet.

Bye also qualified for the NCAA Indoor Meet in March in the heptathlon and at least year's national outdoor decathlon. He finished 11th in the heptathlon after placing 15th in the decathlon in the spring of 2018. If Bye can move up three more spots, and finish in the Top 8 at the NCAA Meet, he will earn All-American honors for the first time in his career.

Last year Bye scored 6,212 points in the decathlon at the national meet. He was six points behind the No.14 finisher and 368 points shy of an All-American finish. Bye's total at this year's MIAC Championship Meet would have been good for an eighth-place finish last year.

Bye will begin his quest for All-American honors on Thursday, May 23 at 9:30 a.m. (central time) in the 100 meters. He will compete in the 100-meter dash, long jump, shot put, high jump and 400 meters on Thursday and then wrap up the 10 events with the 110-meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500 meters on Friday, May 24.