Central takes second, third in home invitational
Central College
PELLA—The Central College men’s track and field squad took runner-up honors in the Central Invitational Saturday, while the women’s team was third.
The Dutch men accumulated 106.5 points and the women scored 58.5. Northern Iowa took both team titles with 222.5 and 264.5 points, respectively.
Central shows middle distance depth—The Dutch had a number of impressive performances in the men’s middle distance events, led by freshmen Eli Horton (Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) and Drew Jackson (Johnston) and their 1-2 finish in the 1500 meters. Horton finished in a time of three minutes, 58.57 seconds with Jackson close behind in 3:59.9.
“Eli and Drew really raced well together,” said coach Joe Dunham. “They took control of the race and showed a lot of maturity for a couple of freshmen.”
L.J. Lipscomb (freshman, Johnston) and Austin O’Brien (sophomore, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS) scored a pair of personal bests in the 800 meters to finished second (1:54.4) and third (1:54.6) respectively. Kyle Wood (senior, Newton) and Logan Danko (junior, Centerville) also finished second (21.97) and third (22.14) respectively in the 200 meters. Meanwhile, Alex Edwards (freshman, Knoxville) was fifth in the 400 meters (50.61). The 4×100 relay squad of Trevor Veach (senior, Grinnell), Danko, Wood, and Allen Scovel (senior, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) took second (42.0) while the 4×400 team of Veach, Edwards, Jordan Sump (sophomore, Grimes, Dallas Center-Grimes HS), and Wood was also second (3:19.42). The quartet of Phil Heisterkamp (junior, Jefferson, Jefferson-Scranton HS), Mason Zimmerman (freshman, Urbandale), Lipscomb, and Schornack was fourth in a time of 3:21.32.
Matt Strey (freshman, Pella, St. Peter (Minn.) HS) was second in the triple jump (42-8), with Miles Barton (freshman, Cedar Rapids, Washington HS) taking third (41-6) and Emery Davis (junior, Crawfordsville, Winfield-Mt. Union HS) placing fifth (40-10.25). Steve Messerschmidt (sophomore, Neola, Tri-Center HS) was fifth in the shot put (47-9.25).
“Our triple jumpers had a great day,” said Dunham. “That is a young group and they’re only going to get better.”
Dunham also cited strong performances in the shot put and javelin.
“Phil Miller had some big throws in the shot put that he couldn’t quite keep in,” said Dunham. “And Jovon Shaw and Adam Ledvina really looked good in the javelin.”
Ledvina and Shaw finished ninth (134-4) and 10th (133-2) respectively.
Darrow, Coleman lead women—A pair of Dutch women nearly broke their own school records Saturday. Felicia Coleman (junior, Houston, Texas, J. Frank Dobie HS) won the 200 meters in a time of 24.88, just shy of her 24.68 mark from 2011, while Morgan Darrow (senior, Newell, Storm Lake HS) finished second in the hammer throw with a distance of 167-1, barely short of her 2011 mark of 167-5.
“Both Felicia and Morgan are talented,” said Dunham. “But they’re also consistent, which can be just as important. They’re a lot of fun to watch.”
Darrow also took fifth in the shot put (43-9.75). Morgan Meseke (sophomore, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS) was second in the 10,000 meters (43:47.43), while Shelby Mendoza (sophomore, Norwalk) and Mel McDermott (junior, Britt, West Hancock) were third (18:50.18) and fifth (19:41.05) respectively in the 5,000 meters. Both relay teams took fourth, with the 4×100 team of Allie McBroom (freshman, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS), Rachel Purdy (junior, Ankeny), Coleman, and Taylor Beckman (freshman, Panora, Panorama HS) finishing in 50.28 while the 4×400 squad of Purdy, Beckman, McBroom, and Camie Kibbee (freshman, Mason City) crossed the line in 4:05.93.
Combined events conclude in Missouri—Central’s multi-eventers wrapped up their two-day competition in St. Louis Saturday at the Washington (Mo.) Invitational. The Dutch placed three men in the top seven in the decathlon, with Ethan Miller (senior, Seymour) moving up to second after a strong day-two performance and finishing with 6,674 points. Eric Larson (freshman, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) and Aaron Fuller (junior, Aberdeen, S.D., Roncalli HS) took sixth (6,152) and seventh (5,852) respectively. Former Dutch athlete Kurtis Brondyke took first with 6,948 points.
Dunham was encouraged by Miller’s performance.
“It’s nice to have Ethan back competing again,” said Dunham. “He’s not at full strength yet but completing an entire decathlon is a big improvement from where he was a month ago. He’s only going to get better from here.”
Morgan Sharp (junior, Grinnell) finished 11th in the heptathlon competition (3,874), while teammates Hilary Hotz (freshman, Fort Dodge, St. Edmond HS) and Felicia Shunk (senior, Bloomfield, Davis County HS) took 19th (3,053) and 20th (2,888) respectively.
The full Dutch squad will travel back to St. Louis next Saturday for the Washington University Select.
“The entire coaching staff is excited with the results from the first two weeks of the outdoor season,” said Dunham. “The meet next week is always has some good teams so we’re looking forward to another great meet.”
