Holding their own against some of the best decathletes in the world, Central College graduates Will Daniels and Kurtis Brondyke competed at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials over the weekend.

Daniels, a 2019 Central graduate, and Brondyke, a 2011 grad, qualified for the meet after having two of the top-18 decathlon scores by American athletes since January 1, 2019. Daniels placed 14th with 6,803 points and Brondyke was 15th with 6,575 points.

Associate head track and field coach Jim Fuller made the trip with Ryan Kruse, another former NCAA Division III qualifier in the decathlon who graduated in 2018 to support Daniels and Brondyke. Fuller and Kruse also sat with Kip Janvrin, the head coach at Central Missouri and a 2000 American Olympian in the decathlon

At Central, Daniels earned All-American status four times and won three national championships. He won the NCAA Division III decathlon title in 2019 and won the heptathlon crown in 2018 and 2019. In six conference championship meets for the Dutch, he finished in the top three of individual events 16 times.

During his four years at Central, Brondyke earned NCAA Division III All-American honors four times and was a national champion at the indoor meet in 2011 in the pentathlon. He finished fifth in the decathlon in 2009 and 2010 and was the runner-up 2011. Brondyke is now an assistant coach at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg.