{"id":2330,"date":"2026-06-20T22:38:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2330"},"modified":"2026-06-20T22:38:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T22:38:18","slug":"national-title-leads-to-a-special-call-home-for-byus-ben-barton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2330","title":{"rendered":"National title leads to a special call home for BYU\u2019s Ben Barton"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Clara Barton was already in tears before she answered her phone. <\/p>\n

The call was coming in from her husband, Ben, who had just won the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon. <\/p>\n

Read more President Oaks teaches 3 characteristics of \u2018the only true and living church\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was definitely an emotional moment,\u201d the recently graduated Ben Barton told the \u201cY\u2019s Guys\u201d livestream show earlier this week. \u201cShe was crying a lot. She (was) so happy because she knows how much that meant for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clara, a junior at BYU, stayed home to care for their three-week old son, which can make a 10-event decathlon two states away seem like a cakewalk. <\/p>\n

Together with baby William, the new family watched Ben beat the field on television. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant a lot to see my wife sacrifice to help me get to that position,\u201d Ben Barton said. \u201cWhen you have a newborn, you help each other. <\/p>\n

\u201cNormally I\u2019d be on diaper duties during the night, but she told me to go to another room and get good sleep in the weeks leading up to nationals so I could really perform.\u201d<\/p>\n

The big finish<\/h3>\n

By the time Ben Barton arrived at the decathlon\u2019s final event last Thursday, he needed a near-perfect 1500m race to pull it off. <\/p>\n

Motivated by Clara\u2019s charity, he did just that, claiming BYU\u2019s first decathlon national title since 1981.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was really tired during that time, and it was hard to see her go through that,\u201d Ben Barton said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t going to let it all be in vain.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Barton arrived at the finish line, he had no idea if his time was fast enough to win the overall prize. He soon learned that it was, and he collapsed to the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cI (was) just out of breath. That\u2019s how every workout goes for me. I don\u2019t know why. I\u2019m always out of breath and I lay down for a long time,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Read more Hundreds celebrate Juneteenth in Salt Lake City<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a blur. The whole day of the meet, everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

One by one, the athletes Barton had just defeated walked over and leaned down to congratulate him.<\/p>\n

Fast friends<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe decathlon is so unlike other events,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are with these competitors for two straight days. You actually become really good friends with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve competed against a lot of those guys in past competitions. They were just really happy for me. I have no idea what they said to me. It was all a blur.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, Barton got back up on his feet and the blur has since dissipated. A week removed from the moment and ahead of Father\u2019s Day, the future dentist is seeing things more clearly. He\u2019s also back on the job at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I\u2019m on extra diaper duty. I\u2019m trying to make up for the lost time,\u201d Barton said. \u201cIt feels good. It\u2019s taken a long time to get here and it\u2019s a surreal moment to finally accomplish what I\u2019ve been working for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Running for more<\/h3>\n

Running at BYU goes beyond the trophies for Barton, who came to Provo from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. It opens a window of opportunity to proselyte his faith differently from the mission years in Reno, Nevada, and overseas in Hungary and Romania.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a huge reason why I wanted to run for BYU, because it is associated with (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints). The church and the gospel mean so much to me,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to interact with other people and hopefully have a positive influence and have them see that as coming from the church in some way has meant a lot to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barton is learning quickly that being a champion means a lot to everybody.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a plumber come today and he said, \u2018Congratulations on the national championship!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Dave McCann is a sportswriter and columnist for the Deseret News and is a play-by-play announcer and show host for BYUtv\/ESPN+. He co-hosts \u201cY\u2019s Guys\u201d at ysguys.com and is the author of the children\u2019s book \u201cC is for Cougar,\u201d available at deseretbook.com<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Opinion: It\u2019s time to heal the hidden wounds of men<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Clara Barton was already in tears before she answered her phone. The call was coming in from her husband, Ben, who had just won the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor National Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Read more President Oaks teaches 3 characteristics of \u2018the only true and living church\u2019 \u201cThat was definitely an emotional moment,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2329,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nNational title leads to a special call home for BYU\u2019s Ben Barton - American Movers Hub<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/americanmovershub.com\/?p=2330\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"National title leads to a special call home for BYU\u2019s Ben Barton - American Movers Hub\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Clara Barton was already in tears before she answered her phone. 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