LAWRENCE, KAN. — The cold weather followed four members of the Central College track and field team south as they battled the conditions at the Kansas Relays Wednesday afternoon in the first day of the heptathlon and decathlon.
           
Competing in a field comprised largely of Division I and II athletes, Will Daniels (sophomore, Geneseo, Ill.) is in first place in the men's decathlon with 3,633 points. On the women's side, Mary Gray (freshman, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) is 11th in the heptathlon (2,383 points) and Kiki Pingel (freshman, Pella) is 13th (2,331 points).
           
For the second year in a row, weather was an adversary for the athletes during the 91st edition of the Kansas Relays.
           
"It was 46 degrees when we got done today," associate head coach Jim Fuller said. "We spent most of the day in the upper 30's and lower 40's with steady winds at 20-30 miles per hour. It's hard to do things when it is that cold."
           
Daniels out in front – Besting the field in the high jump by eight inches may have turned some heads, but it was Daniels 400-meter dash time of 52.87 seconds that caught Fuller's attention.
           
"He gets better in the quarter every week," he said. "Had he not been facing a stiff wind coming down the homestretch, I think he could have had a low 51."
           
An indoor All-American in the high jump, Daniels cleared 6 feet, 8.75 inches despite the wind knocking the bar off the standards several times.
           
"That was the bar we wanted," Fuller said. "Anything past that would have been nice."
           
He ran the 100-meter dash in 11.09 seconds, put the shot 38-7.25 and long jumped 20-10. He leads Zach Podraza of the University of Nebraska and the rest of the 11-man field by 181 points.
           
Senior Ryan Kruse (St. Clair, Minn.) had the best shot put in the decathlon field at 42-11.5 but pulled out of the competition after the high jump. A nagging injury has bothered him much of the spring and Fuller decided sitting out the rest of event was the best option
           
"He's been sore since we got back to training after indoor nationals," he said. "It's getting better but it is not gone yet. I told him that pushing it while he's still sore is not the thing to do."

Gray, Pingel take on the big stage – Competing in an outdoor pentathlon for just the second time, Gray and Pingel looked strong through the first four events.

"I was pleased with what they did," Fuller said. "They're not experienced at this yet. They're freshmen competing against some bigger schools but they were composed and handled the weather well."
           
Though not a personal best, Pingel's 200-meter dash run was noted by Fuller. She was seventh in 27.59 seconds while Gray was ninth in 28.05.
           
"They ran the first curve into a headwind and Kiki really attacked it hard," he said.
           
Both came up just short of career-bests in the 100-meter hurdles, as Gray clocked in eighth at 15.78 seconds and Pingel was 13th in 16.88 seconds. In the shot put, Gray was 11th (30-11) and Pingel was 13th (29-6.5). Pingel cleared 4-8.75 in the high jump and Gray went over at 4-7.5.
           
The men's decathlon continues Thursday at 9 a.m. with the 110-meter hurdles and the women's heptathlon returns with the long jump at 9 a.m.