It was nearly freezing last winter, with six inches of snow at Cessna Stadium, when Wichita State track athlete Austin Bahner began preparing for competitions in the warmer months.

Bahner’s extra effort led to his success as an NCAA finalist and member of Team USA this summer.

“He knows exactly what it takes to be one of the best athletes in the United States, and he gives me the best advice on how to get there as well,” WSU teammate, Taylor Larchmiller said. “I want to have the dedication he has, the determination and the abilities.”

For the second year in a row, Bahner has been selected to compete for Team USA in the decathlon for the Thorpe Cup in Germany this weekend. He has already competed in the NCAA Championship for the indoor heptathlon.

At the Championship in Sacramento, Calif., Bahner achieved a seventh place ranking despite an injury that occurred at the meet.

“Both indoor years I got hurt,” Bahner said. “I went through it, but I wasn’t myself. It was disappointing.”

He placed 14th in the 2013 indoor NCAA Championship, was given NCAA Second Team All-American Honors, and won the MVC Heptathlon Championship. He did all that despite being injured.

When he was healthy, Bahner placed 10th in the outdoor decathlon, and earned NCAA Second Team All-American. He also shattered WSU’s decathlon record.

Bahner started his road to success early. He was an accomplished track athlete during his high school days at Heights High School and a talented basketball player who helped win a state championship. Bahner also played football and soccer and ran on the cross country team, but had never seen track as the gateway.

“I kind of just did track for fun, to be honest,” Bahner said. “My favorite sport was basketball and I was always focused on that. I played other sports in the fall even though I wasn’t determined to go into it. Then I had my basketball season, which I was really focused on and the next season was track.”

After Bahner was recruited for basketball by some smaller schools, track season came. While he started out running the mile and 800-meter for Heights, it was his state title in triple jump and qualification in four different events that colleges were calling about.

“I didn’t like the options I was getting for basketball and I talked to our track coach, Coach Reinbolt, and he convinced me to go to Wichita State,” Bahner said.

After choosing WSU and graduating high school, Bahner set his sights solely on track and was captivated by an event where he could showcase his versatility — the multi heptathlon and decathlon events.

These events require proficiency in seven (heptathlon) or ten (decathlon) different fields.

“I didn’t know the majority of the events,” he said. “I knew long jump, obviously, and I knew how to run. I had never hurdled. I had never pole-vaulted. I never threw any of the throwing events.”

Bahner redshirted his freshman year in order to learn all of the heptathlon and decathlon events, but it only took him one year to begin making school records in events he had never competed in before.

As a freshman, he won an MVC indoor title in the long jump, had a multi heptathlon score that ranked fifth in school history, and achieved a decathlon score of 7,018 points that would rank seventh in school history.

Bahrner busted through his freshman year and returned as a sophomore.

In the 2012 season, he was named MVC athlete of the week, put his name on the all-time WSU top 10 ranking twice, got second in long jump for the MVC Outdoor Championships, and finished with MVC All Conference honors in the long jump and 4×100-meter relay.

He has remained humble even with a lot he could brag about.

“Austin is an amazing teammate,” Larchmiller said. “He isn’t caught up with himself. He’s so worried about his teammates and how they’re doing.”

Bahner would often go to the track to work with Larchmiller on weekends.

“When I was struggling with an event he would go out of his way to help me and give me advice that I hadn’t already heard,” Larchmiller said.

However, Bahner is not the only one lending a helping hand.

“My family has always supported me, and my team at Wichita State is like a big family,” Bahner said. “They have helped me so much along the way.”

This year was Bahner’s last competing for WSU, and teammates say his absence will not go unnoticed.

“It’s going to be a tough adjustment not having him on the team,” Larchmiller said.

Bahner is scheduled to leave for Germany July 22 to compete internationally and is excited for the experience of competing the Thorpe Cup once again.