CRETE, NEB. — The Central College track and field season started over the weekend as four Dutch athletes competed in the Doane University Happy Holidays Multi-Event Saturday and Sunday.
           
Lucas Heitz (senior, Adel, ADM HS) was the best of Central's three men's heptathletes, placing third with 4,787 points. Jaxon Thompson (junior, Marion, Linn-Mar HS) was seventh with 4,500 points and Reid Pakkebier (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) was ninth with 4,393 points.
           
The only Central female to compete, Olivia Bohlen (freshman, Belle Plaine), placed third in her first collegiate pentathlon with a total of 2,993 points.
           
Heitz is already in a good position to make a return trip to the NCAA Division Indoor Track and Field Championships. His score moved him up to No. 4 all-time at Central and behind a trio of All-Americans, including two national champions.
           
"The highlight of the weekend is Lucas probably getting a national qualifying mark," associate head coach Jim Fuller said. "That's about 123 points above his mark from last year. He had three personal bests, including a good pole vault (13 feet, 9.25 inches)."
           
Thompson had the best high jump mark (6-4.75) in the field and used that to bolster his total.

"Jaxon's high jumping was really good," Fuller said. "He had a slow hurdle race with a bad start but other than that he was pretty solid."
           
After 10 weeks on the football field as a linebacker, Pakkebier is only just now getting into track and field shape.
           
"Reid was very good considering he's only been practicing for basically a week," Fuller said. "He had PRs in the indoor shot put (37-7.75) and the pole vault (11-1.75)."
           
Bohlen put together a stellar debut and set herself up for a promising freshman season.
           
"She high jumped better than her or I expected," Fuller said. "She just kept getting better and better as she went. That's the first time she's ever high jumped in her life and she went over five feet. The 800-meter run was eye opening to her because she's never really done that before. Her 60-meter hurdles time is already on Central's top-10 list. She's got a great future."
                 
The full Central track and field squad will compete Friday at the Dutch Holiday Preview, a meet Central is hosting in the H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse starting at 3:30 p.m.