Derek Jacobus had a goal of winning the Missouri Valley Conference title in the decathlon before he graduated from the University of Northern Iowa.

The Kennedy grad did it this year as a freshman at UNI.

Jacobus edged Northern Iowa teammate Jayvon Mathews, 6921 to 6913, for the decathlon title at the MVC meet in Normal, Ill., earlier this month.

Jacobus won the 100 meter dash in 10.96 seconds, took the 400 meter dash in 48.79 seconds and captured the long jump at 7.05 meters as part of the decathlon. He was a state long jump champion at Kennedy.