Central’s Miller tabbed national field athlete of the year

Central College

PELLA—Central College junior Ethan Miller (Seymour) has been named the national men’s field athlete of the year for the Division III indoor track and field season by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

With a meet-best 26 point showing at the NCAA championships March 11-12, Miller led the Dutch to a national runner-up finish with 44 points, just one point behind champion North Central (Ill.)

Miller captured the high jump crown with a personal best leap of 6 feet, 11 inches and claimed runner-up honors in the long jump (23-8.75) and pentathlon (3,797 points). His 23-5.5 mark in pentathlon’s long jump set an NCAA championships record.

Earlier this season Miller was tabbed the Central Region men’s indoor field athlete of the year. It was his third straight season receiving the award, winning the same honor in the 2010 indoor and outdoor seasons.

Miller earned the Iowa Conference’s field athlete of the year award after capturing titles in the pole vault (13-11.25) and long jump (24-1.75) and sharing co-champion honors in the pentathlon (3,475 points) with teammate Kurtis Brondyke (Clinton). Miller placed in three more events at the league’s indoor meet Feb. 25-26, including the triple jump (2nd, 45-2.25), high jump (3rd, 6-8.75) and 55-meter hurdles (4th, 8.02 seconds). He received the conference’s athlete of the week honor three times throughout the season.

The Dutch open their outdoor season March 25-26 with the Viking Olympics in Rock Island, Ill.