Central comes in at ninth, 11th in outdoor track rankings

Central College

PELLA—The Central College men’s and women’s track and field squads will begin the outdoor season ranked ninth and 11th respectively in the power rankings produced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Teams are scored using a points system that objectively measures the top performances across the country in each event. The rankings for the first three weeks will rely on performances from the previous season in addition to recent performances.

The Dutch men are coming off a banner 2011 outdoor season. They captured their third consecutive Iowa Conference title and placed seventh at the NCAA Division III Championships.

The women’s squad was third at last year’s outdoor league championship meet, marking their sixth consecutive top-three finish. They also placed 17th at the national championships, their highest finish since 2004.

Central opened their outdoor season March 24 at the Augustana (Ill.) Viking Open with the men’s and women’s squads taking third and fourth, respectively. The Dutch will play host to the Central Invitational Saturday at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium in Pella. Running events are slated to begin at 10 a.m. with field events beginning at 11 a.m.