PELLA — Reid Pakkebier (sophomore, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) closed out the win in the Central College Last Chance Decathlon Wednesday afternoon and improved his chances of qualifying for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Pakkebier finished with a total of 6,402 points in the two-day, 10-discipline event. The new career-best effort places Pakkebier at No. 19 nationally. The top 22 marks will go to the national meet and that list will be announced on Friday.  The sophomore improved his score by 404 points from the American Rivers Conference Championships over the weekend.

"One of the big turning points for him was the pole vault," associate head coach Jim Fuller said. "He went over a foot higher than he did at conference. He also ran a fast hurdles time to start the day today. It was a good time when you sore from the door before, let alone coming off of two days rest since conference."

Lucas Heitz (senior, Adel, ADM HS) wrapped up his collegiate career by taking fourth with 6,140 points. He finishes as a three-time national qualifier, finishing as high as 12th at the 2022 outdoor national meet in the decathlon. He's been an all-region performer four times and an American Rivers All-Conference performer three times, including a 2021 indoor conference title in the pentathlon.

"Lucas is so steady," Fuller said. "He has the same expression if it goes well or if it goes bad. He's an extremely hard worker who has been willing to put in the time. His teammates voted him as our male Dutch Spirit Award for his support of others and his leadership. He leaves here with a lot of people patting him on the back."

His leadership lasted until the very end of his career.

"He probably could have run a little faster if he had been by himself but he stuck with Reid and helped him along," Fuller said. "He let him pass him at the end and cheered him on. All seven of those decathlon guys care about each other and get along. It's a neat workout group. When one succeeds, they all succeed."
 
Freshman Grant Miller (Norwalk) completed his second decathlon of his career with 5,562 points, adding 255 points from his first attempt on April 21-22. He finished in fifth place Wednesday.

"He's definitely improved a lot," Fuller said. "He has to keep working on his pole vault and his foot speed will continue to come along. He really can be a good thrower, he knows how to use his hips."

Central sends a contingent of other student-athletes to the Midwest Twilight Qualifier hosted by Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois Thursday. They will all be looking to join the list of national qualifiers headed to Rochester, New York next weekend.