Dutch make final bid for national track berths
Central College
NAPERVILLE, ILL.—The Central College men’s and women’s track and field squads came away with several strong marks in their last attempt to qualify for the Division III indoor championships Saturday.
Perhaps the biggest statement came from Kyle Wood (senior, Newton) in the 400 meters. The two-time indoor Iowa Conference champion in the event came up with a big personal best of 49.1 seconds to place second behind last year’s national champion, Dan Benton of North Central. That mark currently ranks him 10th in Division III. Wood also led off the 4×400 relay team of Allen Scovel (senior, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS), Trevor Veach (senior, Grinnell), and Mason Zimmerman (freshman, Urbandale) to a season’s best time of 3:19.78.
“Kyle was mentally dialed in tonight,” said Dunham. “That was a big-time personal best and we’re really proud of him.”
Meanwhile, the women’s 4×400 relay team of Rachel Northrup (freshman, Griswold), Felicia Coleman (junior, Houston, Texas, J. Frank Dobie HS), Rachel Purdy (junior, Ankeny), and Miranda Wehde (sophomore, Tipton) also put up a season’s best mark of 3:59.04.
“I was very pleased with both of the relay teams,” said Dunham. “Those times probably won’t be good enough to get in the indoor meet, but they bode well for the outdoor season.”
Other notable performances include a pair of personal best for Austin O’Brien (sophomore, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS) in the Mile (4:19.91, 7th) and Eli Horton (freshman, Runnells, Southeast Polk HS) in the 5,000 meters (15:02.26, 6th). Horton was less than a second away from Adam Wolf’s 2006 record of 15:02.06. Logan Danko (junior, Centerville) won the 200 meters in a personal-best 22.54 seconds while Tyler Crouse (senior, Hedrick, Pekin HS) threw a season’s best mark of 54-11.25 in the weight throw to place fifth.
The Dutch will now wait and see how many qualifiers will be accepted into the Division III national championships hosted by Grinnell College March 9-10. The fields will be announced Sunday. In addition to Wood, other likely Central qualifiers include Eric Larson (freshman, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) and Caitlin Wilson (senior, Oakland, Riverside HS). Larson is currently sitting 10th in the heptathlon while Wilson is seventh. The top 13 men and 15 women will be accepted.
“It’s always exciting to compete at the national level,” said Dunham. “We like our chances with several of our athletes and we’re looking forward to staying close to home for the national meet.”
