NEW IBERIA — Last Friday, you voted Louisiana decathlete Chandler Mix our Cajuns Madness champion. But who is Chandler Mixon?
I honestly knew very little, so I hoped down to New Iberia to meet with the Highland Baptist product.
"They wanted any athlete on the team. I didn't really want to play football, but they convinced me," turns out people might be more familair with the name, than I was.
Before my time began at KATC, Mixon was a running back for the Bears. He played five seasons and when he graduated, was third on the schools all-time rushing list.
"We didn't have enough kids for a middle school team or JV. So they put me straight on varsity and I got to run sprints with the seniors and compete with them every day in practice," he remembers.
Chandler didn't even begin running track & field until his junior year when the school started a team. As a junior and senior he won the district title in the 400m run. Mixon was a quick learner and progressed quickly. He credits an extensive background in football and gymnastics with building a strong foundation.
"God really put me through training up until now," said Mixon. "I didn't even know what I was training for."
The decathlon is ten events. Mixon says pole vaulting, something he didn't even pick up until after he committed to UL as not only his favorite, but his best event.
"Pole vaulting is really fun. It's the one sport you can feel like a superhero with all the acrobatics," he said.
Last spring, as a sophomore, Mixon finished third in the decathlon at the Sun Belt Conference meet. This winter he finished second at the indoor version of the event, the heptathlon.
The Cajuns Madness bracket set out to names the school's best student athlete, I asked him if decathletes are the best athletes. He said no.
"There are football players who are twice as strong as me, there are sprinters who are faster than me, a lot of the jumpers jump better than me," he said. "It just defines being a more well rounded athlete."