Central’s Pakkebier in Front at Home Decathlon

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 is leading the way after five events.

Pakkebier has 3,454 points to pace the seven-man field. Lucas Heitz is fourth with 3,174 points and Grant Miller is fifth with 3,053 points. Gavin Smith 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. Day two continues at 11 a.m. Wednesday.

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Central Lands Five on CSC Academic All-District Baseball and Softball Squads

A combined five student-athletes from the Central College softball and baseball teams were revealed as selections to the College Sports Communicator Division III Academic All-District teams Tuesday afternoon.

Madison Farrington, Carson Fisk, Emma Jensen and Sydni Husiman represent the Dutch softball program while Sam Staley represents the baseball team.

To be eligible for consideration, a student-athlete must be a starter or key reserve at the varsity level and achieve a 3.50 or better cumulative grade point average. All five are now under consideration for Academic All-America honors.

Farrington is a biology major who maintains a 3.82 GPA. A catcher, Farrington has started 39 of a possible 40 games, hitting .270 with 15 RBI. She has notched 12 extra-base hits, including a team-high two home runs.

Fisk is an elementary education major with a 3.66 GPA. Fisk has started all 40 games for Central at shortstop, hitting .227, scoring 22 runs and laying down a team-high 12 sacrifice bunts.

Jensen is a kinesiology major with a 3.69 GPA. Jensen has started all 40 games for Central, primarily in right field, and is hitting .261. She has drove in 18 runs and scored 15 times.

Huisman is an actuarial science and computer science double major with a 3.76 GPA. Huisman is 15-4 in the circle with a 2.09 ERA. She has struck out 65 batters over 97 innings. She is a two-time winner having previously been honored in 2021.

Staley is an engineering major with a 3.59 GPA. Starting five times on the mound and making 14 total appearances, Staley finished with a 2-5 record and a 6.00 ERA.

Staley is the first Academic All-District player for baseball since Garrett Saunders in 2019 and the 10th ever. The Dutch softball team now has 19 total honorees.