Central’s Daniels takes lead in national decathlon
Central Dutch Athletics
GENEVA, OHIO — Setting new personal-best marks in four of five events Thursday, Central College men’s track and field athlete Will Daniels (senior, Geneseo, Ill.) is leading the 20-man decathlon field at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
A first-day total of 3,990 points has Daniels 259 points better than the second-place athlete, Dylan Cooper’s (Wis.-Eau Claire) 3,731 points. His day one score is 154 points better than his first decathlon this season at the Jim Dutcher Memorial Classic on April 19-20.
“He was pretty relaxed and focused at the same time,” coach Brandon Sturman said. “it was exciting to see him have fun and compete well.”
On the track, Daniels dropped .99 seconds off his career-best mark in the 400-meter dash and .17 seconds in the 100-meter dash. He had the top time in the 100 and was third in the 400.
“The 100 was wind-aided, but in the decathlon it doesn’t matter,” Sturman said.
He muscled the shot put 42 feet, 8.25 inches (2nd place) and reached 22-7.75 in the long jump. Despite having the best mark in the field, his high jump of 6-7.5 was the only event he did not set a new career-best mark.
A 19th-place finish in the discus throw for Gillian Streit (sophomore, Manilla, Harlan HS) was her first career appearance at the national meet. Streit was only able to land the second of her three throws in bounds for a measurable mark of 126 feet, 10 inches.
“It definitely was a great experience for her,” Sturman said. “She was disappointed in her mark, but it’s another opportunity to learn and grow. She’ll have another chance next year to repeat the process and do better than she did this year.”
Erica Oawster from the University of Wisconsin –Eau Claire was the winner with a toss of 160-4.
Day two of the decathlon will start at 10 a.m. (EST) on Friday for Daniels with 110-meter hurdles. Drake Lewis (sophomore, Lathrop, Mo.) and Emily Burt (junior, Freeport, Ill.) will compete in the men’s high jump and women’s shot put at 11:30 a.m. as well.
