Cerritos College freshman Thomas Cheval (Birmingham HS) recorded 6742 points to come in second place at the Southern California Decathlon Championships, which were held at Mt. San Antonio College. Cheval, whose point total was the fourth most in school history, was edged out of the top spot by Phillip Bailey of Riverside City College, who won the event with 6762 points.

Also competing for the Falcons at the event were sophomores Jake Ostgaard (La Mirada HS) and Aaron Martin (Carson HS), along with freshman Colin Monaco (Long Beach Poly HS). Ostgaard came in ninth place with 5746, while Martin slipped to 11th place with 5546 points. As a freshman, Martin advanced to the state championships and came in 11th place. As for Monaco, he posted 5451 points, good for 13th place out of 20 competitors.

Over the course of the two-day event, Cheval came in first place in one event, second place in another and third in two events. Points are awarded based on each individual's time, distance or height, depending on the event.

Heading into the final event, the 1500 meters, Cheval was in second place overall, but lead Bailey by 44 points, But when he earned only 614 points after posting a time of 4:50.83, Bailey was able to pull ahead and win the championship after he crossed the finish line in 4:40.31, which earned him 678 points. The overall leader prior to the 1500 meters was Miles Poullard of Mt. SAC, but he could only muster 420 points with his time of 5:25.95, which dropped him to fourth place overall.

Cheval posted the fastest time in the 110-meter HH (15.18), earning him 828 points, while his second place time of 11.18 in the 100 meters garnered him 821 points. In the shot put, Cheval edged Bailey with a throw that traveled 11.65 meters, good for third place and 585 points, while his high jump of 1.95 meters posted 758 points and was good for third place. He also came in fourth place in the 400 meters (50.15; 808 points) and long jump (6.74 meters; 753 points).

Ostgaard won the javelin with a throw of 54.86 meters, which earned him 661 points, while he placed fifth in the 1500 meters in a time of 4:40.74, good for 676 points.

Martin was in sixth place overall prior to the 1500 meters, but was disqualified, which dropped him to 11th place overall after the conclusion of the event. Helping him get that high in the standings was a second place finish in the pole vault (4.00 meters; 617 points), as well as a third place in the discus at 36.13 meters, good for 586 points. The best event for Monaco was a fifth place in the shot put of 11.39 meters, which earned him 569 points, as well as a sixth place in the 400 meters (50.48) for 793 points.