PELLA — The Central College track and field is hosting one final decathlon to give athletes a chance to qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships and Dutch sophomore Reid Pakkebier (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) is leading the way after five events.

Pakkebier has 3,454 points to pace the seven-man field. Lucas Heitz (senior, Adel, ADM HS) is fourth with 3,174 points and Grant Miller (freshman, Norwalk) is fifth with 3,053 points. Gavin Smith (freshman, Audubon) is seventh with 2,330 points but did not finish the 400-meter dash at the end of the day, adding zero points to his score.

Pakkebier, Heitz, Smith and entries from Simpson College and Wartburg College are all attempting their second decathlon in a seven-day span after competing at the American Rivers Conference Championships Thursday and Friday.

"I thought we did fine," associate head coach Jim Fuller said. "We're on a quick turnaround and they are a little tired. Reid had a really good day. We'll see if we can recover a little bit more by tomorrow."
           
Day two continues at 11 a.m. Wednesday.