Completed Event: Track and Field at Battle on the Bayou on April 3, 2026 ,
Final
Track and Field
at Battle on the Bayou
University of Oklahoma Athletics
In Others' Words: Thomas Cheval
February 23, 2016 | Track and Field
He runs, jumps, throws and oh yeah, he does it in record-breaking fashion! On Jan. 30, Thomas Cheval broke Oklahoma's 15-year-old program record in the heptathlon to not only etch his name into the OU history book, but his 5,671 points propelled him to a top-10 spot on the NCAA qualification chart. More impressively, the seven events in which he competes (60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, long jump, high jump, shot put, pole vault and 1,000-meter run) only scratch the surface of his skillfulness. Instead of listing all of his dynamic attributes (there are plenty), check out what his coaches and a few teammates say about just how versatile the Van Nuy, Calif., native really is.
HEAD COACH OF TRACK AND FIELD JIM VANHOOTEGEM
"His interests are wide ranging. He's not a myopic person. He's got broad view and so I think that fits with his athletics. I do think his personality is important because he does bridge across the events. That's one thing I really enjoy about Thomas. When you see him, he's hanging out with the throwers, he's hanging out with the distance runners, and he's hanging out with the sprinters. He's competitive and likes to challenge the long jumpers to the long jump and he likes to be as fast as anyone else. The event definitely fits his personality."
"He'd definitely be Spiderman. He's always jumping over things and doing gymnastics. I think his ability to pull things out in competition is very surprising, but he also does some kind of neat stuff off the track. He can do this one flip where he lands in a fighting stance -- it's pretty cool. I think he may even become a stunt man one day or an action hero. But on the track, it's his ability to pull off a third-round jump or throw. He always has the ability to come through."
Senior Distance Runner Brandon Doughty
"He's probably stronger than he is fast, so he'd be Superman. As a decathlete, you have to be super athletic and be able to jump, throw and run. He does random backflips all over the place during practice; there's one backflip where he catches something in his hand that somebody throws at him. He's really done a great job of training and you see him doing all of the different events throughout the day and it's just super cool to watch him do a little bit of everything. He performs really well when it counts."
Junior Long Jumper Baileh Simms
"[If he were a superhero he'd be] Batman because Batman doesn't have any powers. Thomas doesn't have any powers, but he's able to do so many things because he's physically fit. It seems like he can do so much. He can be a ninja and then be a businessman. Thomas also has a lot of stuff going on outside [of track] like he has a second identity, but when he gets onto the track he has that vengeance of Batman."
"He's very focused and when you talk to him you can tell he's very interested in the sport. When I see him compete he constantly has an adrenaline rush so with every event that he goes to he has a constant energy; it never changes. What I think makes him the athlete that he is that he is able to have that same energy and same confidence [in each event]."
Assistant Coach of Sprints, Hurdles, & Relays Ronnye Harrison
"Thomas is like Batman in that he doesn't fly, but he gets the job done. He makes it there and has unique qualities to bring out the best of himself during competition. The thing that Thomas embodies is that he can handle adversity. He bounces back from one event to the next, which you have to do if you're a multi. They have to be able to hurdle; they have to be able to jump; they have to be able to throw; and they have to be able to run, after all of that, for an extremely long time. I could never fathom doing that. Thomas is a very unique individual in that he's a good multi and not an average one."
Assistant Coach of Vertical Jumps & Combined Events John Dagata
"It's almost better that he has three coaches sometimes because he's so versatile. If he's working with the sprints coach who may be a little calmer or we're doing the pole vault and I'm bringing a lot of intensity, he can kind of manipulate his emotions to adjust to what the demand is -- that's what happens when you're doing five events in a day. You've got to adjust to all the complexities of having a great event, followed by a pretty good event, an incredible PR, and then you've got to get ready for your next event. You're only as good as one event. You can set a world record in nine events and if the 10th event goes terrible, it's all for nothing. We arm him to be more versatile in all of the events."
"If he were a superhero he'd be Wolverine because has a ferociousness about him. He's ferocious without a doubt, but also very calm in certain ways. He tries to be like a normal person, but he's not. He's a guy that literally strives for competition. He wants the pressure. He wants the attention. When I first saw him, I remember thinking, 'this guy looks like he's beating everyone by 1,000 points' and he actually wasn't winning that day. That's the thing that really got me. This guy had the claws out; he was Wolverine out there. When the pressures on, the claws come out as we can see with him setting the record at OU. He's not one to be messed with."
Senior Thrower Chase Sammons
"I don't really know what superhero he'd be, but I always call him 'Thomas the Tank Engine'; does that count? Mainly, it's because of his name, but also he can do every event and he does each so well. He just keeps going and going and going all day. He's definitely versatile athletically, but I think he excels so well at it because he has such a great mindset for training. He's in love with the process and he loves training. We get to the track about the same time every day and he's always so enthusiastic about what he's doing that day no matter if it's shot, hurdles, throwing the jav(elin), he always has great zeal for what he's doing."
"Thomas actually is really talented in other areas too. He's very musically talented. He's always in the locker room with his laptop making new music. I know that quite a few people from other teams go to his apartment and they have a studio in there where they're making raps and music. I can't rap at all or dance."
THE GREAT DEBATE Thomas Cheval vs. Chase Sammons
If All-American thrower Chase Sammons, who stands at 6-2, faced off with Thomas Cheval, who would win that bout? Here's what the group said:
Coach Dagata:
"OK this is like the old Street Fighter II game. It's like Ryu versus the Russian Dahlgren, where Thomas is Ryu and Chase is the Dahlgren. We know Ryu's going to win that one. Speed is always going to kill, just remember that Chase."
Baileh Simms:
"I think Chase would win, but I think Thomas would hold him off for a very long time. It wouldn't be an easy match. It would be more like -if they went for several rounds - Thomas would win some rounds and Chase would win some rounds, but Chase would probably come out on top."
Coach VanHootegem:
"Well Thomas is pretty quick and he might have some moves, but ultimately I think Chase might weigh him down."
Chase Sammons:
"Oh me, easily - hands down. I used to wrestle until I got to high school. Actually, everyone in my family did, so I think I'd have it easily. [He'd have] no chance at all."
Players Mentioned
Multis
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Throws
/ Track and Field
Jumps
/ Track and FieldSaturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
