Carter Morton Photo by Sue Rieder

Much of this week the Raccoon Valley Radio Sports Department will be keeping an eye on the USA Track & Field Championships in Eugene, OR at historic Hayward Field. The reason? Carter Morton, the 2020 Greene County High School graduate from Jefferson, will be competing in the July 31-Aug. 1 Decathlon. He qualified for this meet with a score of 7,882 points when he finished second at the 2025 Drake Relays in Des Moines. The soon-to-be sixth year senior at the U. of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls competed unattached during the recent outdoor season, but he still has one more year of indoor and outdoor eligibility for the Panthers. Before going back to UNI it’s the biggest meet of his career first because all of the USA’s best compete at this meet. He enters the competition with the eleventh highest score.

Dave Paulsen is the Director of men’s and women’s track & field at UNI and he talked with Raccoon Valley Radio about Carter and the upcoming USATF Championships, acknowledging that at 5′ 11″, 162 lbs., the former Greene County High School Ram of the Year, isn’t big for being an elite decathlete. “He’s on the smaller side for what the typical quote-unquote decathlete should look like, but he’s wired the right way. He’s learned quite a few of the (10) events. They were all brand new to him when he first got to college. He was a high jumper and hurdler coming out of high school. All those throwing events, the pole vault, it’s just incredible to see where he’s gone!”

Morton is the son of Chad and Deb Morton of Jefferson. Check TV and streaming listings to watch him compete this Thursday and Friday at the USA T & F Championships.