CONWAY, ARK. — Catapulting past his own teammate, Central College men's track and field athlete Ryan Kruse (junior, St. Clair, Minn.) was the top competitor at the Hendrix University (Ark.) Spring Break Multis Saturday.
           
Kruse finished the two-day, 10-event competition with 6,038 points. Teammate Will Daniels (freshman, Geneseo, Ill.) was the runner-up with 5,709 points.
           
A throwing specialist, Kruse surged to the lead after winning efforts in the discus throw (129 feet, 4.5 inches) and javelin throw (164-4.25).
           
"I thought he threw well, especially for his first time out," associate head coach Jim Fuller said.
           
Fuller was excited by the duo's performance in the pole vault, where they nearly eclipsed their career bests. Kruse cleared 12-11.5 and Daniels went over the bar at 11-3.5.
           
"They both vaulted well," he said. "They had attempts at their personal bests and I was happy with that since vaulting with the wind can be a little more difficult."
           
Making his debut in the decathlon, Daniels competed in the discus and javelin for the first time in his career. He reached a mark of 101-3.25 in the discus and 111-1.25 in the javelin.

"The second day is going to be a tough day for him until he gets more experience," Fuller said. "All five second day events are completely new to him. I was very happy with his discus, considering he never threw it in high school."

The early competition gives the pair and their coach some future training ideas.

"I was happy with the effort in the first meet," Fuller said, "We identified a few things to work on, which is the purpose of competing at this meet."

The full track team gets their outdoor season underway next Saturday with the home Central Invitational at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.