Adjusting to the college competition was no problem for track athlete Derek Lahm, but competing in 10 events wasn’t on Lahm’s list when committing to WSC.

Lahm graduated in 2013 from Scotus Central Catholic in Columbus and currently a sophomore here at WSC majoring in Chemistry Health Science for Pre-Med.

In high school, Lahm competed in the long jump, triple jump and multiple short distance running events including some relays.

“I originally planned to strictly long and triple jump in college,” Lahm said. “Coach Travis Kamm and I got the idea to do the multi after last season because I had the type of body build that works well for it.”

The indoor heptathlon consists of 7 events – 60 meter dash, 60 meter high hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put and the 1000 meter run.

The outdoor decathlon consists of 10 events – 100 meter, 110 meter high hurdles, long jump, high jump, pole vault, shot put, discus, javelin, 400 meter and 1500 meter run.

Before this year, Lahm never competed in the 60 or 100 meter dash, hurdles, pole vault, shot put, discus, 1000 or 1500 meter run.

“I’ve only been training for the multi for about six months, and I pole vaulted for the first time less than a month before the conference meet,” Lahm said.

Lahm spends a lot of time on hurdles and high jump because those are two events in which a lot of technique is required.

There are a couple of days when he practices three different events, while also running a small mid-distance workout.

Some days he also practices in the morning then comes back a few hours later to do the full workout with the sprinters. All this follows an early morning lifting workout at 6:30 a.m.

Lahm is most comfortable competing in the long and triple jump along with the 400. These events are ones that he has been doing for years.

The only major concern Coach Marlon Brink and Coach Kamm had regarding the multi was that Lahm had problems with his left ankle and achilles the previous season. They were worried that a larger workload might cause Lahm to have another injury.

“So far, I’ve managed to stay healthy this year, and I’m grateful for that,” Lahm said.

Lahm placed fourth at the NSIC Indoor Heptathlon this season with an NCAA provisional mark of 4,658 points. He’s looking to do some big things this outdoor season too.

“Time and patience is needed when learning to do the multi,” Lahm said. “I’m a very competitive person and I love the challenge it gives me.”