Dutch smash record and gain finals berths
Central College
DELAWARE, OHIO—The Central College men’s and women’s track and field squads qualified two relays teams for the finals at the NCAA Division III Championships Thursday while Central’s multi-event athletes are all in the top eight in their respective fields after one day of competition.
Adding to an already storied year, the women’s 4×400-meter relay squad of Jill Ziskovsky (senior, Dallas Center, Dallas Center-Grimes HS), Emily Teas (senior, Indianola), Rachel Purdy (sophomore, Ankeny), and Felicia Coleman (sophomore, Houston, Texas, J. Frank Dobie HS) smashed their previous school record of three minutes, 48.75 seconds set at the Drake Relays in April by over two seconds, crossing the line in 3:46.3 to finish third in the preliminary rounds and secure a spot in Saturday’s final.
“They just ran really, really well,” said coach Joe Dunham. “All four of them ran smart races and are performing at a very high level right now. It’ll be fun to see how they do on Saturday.”
Earlier in the day, the men’s 4×100 relay quartet of Trevor Veach (junior, Grinnell), Mitch Wagoner (freshman, Iowa Falls, Iowa Falls-Alden HS), Kyle Wood (junior, Newton), and Allen Scovel (junior, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) equaled their season’s best mark of 41.48 seconds to finish sixth in the prelims and advance to the finals for a second consecutive year.
“The 4×100 was a really tight race, but our consistency all year long paid off,” said Dunham. “If they do that again in finals they very well could finish high than sixth.”
Central’s multi-eventers also left their mark in the first day of competition. Ethan Miller (junior, Seymour) and Kurtis Brondyke (senior, Clinton) are sitting in the second and third respectively after the first five events of the decathlon. Miller recorded marks of 10.95 in the 100 meters, 23 feet, six inches in the long jump, 35-6.5 in the shot put, 6-7.5 in the high jump, and 50.65 in the 400 meters. Brondyke recorded marks of 11.2 in the 100 meters, 22-7 in the long jump, 42-0.75 in the shot put, 6-5 in the high jump, and 50.44 in the 400 meters. Miller has 3,867 points with five events remaining while Brondyke scored 3,819. Richard Roethel of Christopher Newport (Va.) is the leader at the halfway point with 3,889 points.
Meanwhile, Caitlin Wilson (junior, Oakland, Riverside HS) is tied for sixth and Ziskovsky is in eighth heading into the second day of the heptathlon. Wilson recorded marks of 15.22 in the 100 hurdles, 5-3 in the high jump, 37-0.5 in the shot put, and 27.57 in the 200 meters. Ziskovsky recorded marks of 15.38 in the 100 hurdles, 5-1.75 in the high jump, 29-6 in the shot put, and 25.2 in the 200 meters. Wilson has 2,828 points and Ziskovsky has 2,826.
“There are ups and downs in every multi-event competition,” said Dunham. “We had a lot of good things happen today and they’ve set themselves up to do well tomorrow.”
Rain delays complicated Miller’s competition schedule, but he still managed to qualify for the finals of the long jump, recording a mark of 23-4.75 in between the high jump and 400 meters of the decathlon. He was unable to improve that mark in finals but still finished third and earned the ninth all-America award of his career.
“Ethan showed a lot of toughness in the long jump,” said Dunham. “He was tired from the decathlon but still managed to score some points for us. On any given day he is capable of winning that event.”
Coleman was also 13th in the prelims of the 20 meters with a time of 25.37 and did not advance to the finals.
Central’s men are sitting in a tie for seventh after one day of competition with six points.
The women’s hammer throw was originally scheduled to be contested Thursday, but rain delays caused the event to be moved to Friday at 11 a.m. The rest of Central’s schedule on Friday includes the final events of the heptathlon (12 p.m.) and decathlon (1 p.m.), as well as the men’s shot put (4:30), men’s 400 meters (7 p.m.), women’s shot put (7 p.m.), and women’s 100 meters (7:45 p.m.).
