Central track and field squads compete in Grinnell and South Dakota
Central College
PELLA — Competing in two different locations over the course of the weekend, the Central College track and field squads battled through adversity to achieve impressive times and marks.
With two weeks remaining until the Iowa Conference Indoor Championships in Storm Lake on Feb. 27-28, coach Joe Dunham is happy with the progress his squads are making.
“I was pleased with both squads today,” he said. “We probably made the greatest improvements this week of any week so far this season. We still have a lot of work to do to accomplish our goals, but we are getting there.”
Mufford, Stuht win field events at Darren Young Classic—
Due in part to taking only a split squad, Central finished 7th of 10 teams in both the men’s and women’s standings at the Darren Young Classic in Grinnell. Central’s spot in the team standings was also decimated by health issues.
“We are dealing with a lot of injuries and illness,” Dunham said. “We’ve talked about how we will respond to adversity and they were a great example of responding the great way.”
High jumper Logan Mulford (Mt. Pleasant) was the highlight of the day for the Dutch, reaching the 7-foot mark with his leap of 7 feet, 0.25 inches. That puts Mulford in elite company as the second best indoor jump in Central history and tied for the best in Division III this year.
“Logan had a great day,” Dunham said. “He looked good at every single height. That was an outstanding effort by him today.”
Lorell Stuht (junior, Loveland, Colo.) continued to reign supreme in the weight throw, winning the event with a toss of 54-4. Stuht set the school record last week at 55-0.50.
Davis sets school record in 400 meter dash—
Finishing in a blistering 57.06 seconds, Abi Davis (senior, West Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS) broke the school record by a full second, set last year by Allie McBroom. Davis finished eighth in the event behind six Division I runners and one from the NJCAA.
Davis teamed with Ashlee Downs (senior, Urbandale, Iowa, West Des Moines Valley HS), Hope Heitman (freshman, Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge HS), and Monica Ruiz (senior, Hudson) to run the 4×400 relay in 3:55.21 and finish eighth. The quartet is 13th in Division III this season.
In a field loaded with Division 1 and II runners, Cole Decker (senior, Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS) bested the 56-man field to win in 8:23.47, a personal best and second-fastest time in program history.
Closing in on the 16-year old school record, Dan Roemerman (senior, Iowa City) finished fourth in the 60 meter hurdles in 8.21. Roemerman is .01 off the record set by Cory Woods in 1999.
With athletes spread into multiple locations, Dunham cited his coaching staff for their help in making sure the athletes were prepared.
“I give a lot of credit to the coaches on our staff,” he said. “We continue to improve each week and they do a great job of guiding our athletes.”
Central was host Simpson College in a dual meet next Friday at 2 p.m. in H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse.
