Paul Terek may have just broken two MSU records for track and field, but he wants more.
“I think I can score higher points,” he said.
Senior co-captain Terek set the records in the decathlon, scoring 7,441 points, and the pole vault, with a height of 17 feet, 7 inches, last weekend.
“(I did) pretty decent; in terms of breaking (the record), I knew I was going to break it because I redshirted it last year,” he said.
Terek said he has been training to improve through college. He said while this is his fourth year, he will be around next year.
Along with the records, Terek also qualified for both events in the NCAA Championship. He said he expects strong competition in the tournament this weekend.
“If I compete like I did this weekend it won’t be good, but if I have a good weekend, it will be hard for them,” he said.
Terek said one of his main concerns is being consistent with the height of his pole vault.
“If I’m on, they won’t be able to come in and take it from me,” he said.
He also said one day he would like to compete in the Olympics.
Darroll Gatson, director of men’s track and field and men’s cross country, said Terek’s performance was great.
“(It was) quite an outstanding day,” he said. “He’s come a long way in his maturity at MSU.”
Gatson said Terek will have to concentrate on improvement for the championship.
“In the decathlon you’re always working to improve,” he said.
Terek will have to work on his weaker events to be able to compete, Gatson said.
“You work on everything, you don’t delete anything, that way you become better at everything,” he said.
Gatson said the championships are more of a learning experience.
“You go in there and do the best you can,” he said. “You can be the best one out there and if you make one mistake, you lose.”
Freshman distance runner Stephen Padgett said Terek deserves the honor.
“He works harder than anybody in practice and he’s completely focused,” he said.
Padgett said Terek should have no problems competing for the championship.
“With the pole vault, it can be anybody’s day, but he’s got as good a chance as anybody so he should be right up there in the mix,” he said.
