Dutch women fourth at Grinnell track meet
GRINNELL — Another solid day of field events for the Central College women’s track and field yielded a fourth-place finish at the Darren Young Classic hosted by Grinnell College Saturday afternoon.
Central compiled 80 points in the nine-team field. Nebraska Wesleyan University won the championship with 199 points.
“It was a really good meet with some powerhouse programs,” coach Brandon Sturman said. “I think it will prepare us both mentally and physically for the conference meet.”
It was a career-best indoor mark for triple jumper Holly Forrester (Wamego, Kan., Rock Creek HS) with her winning leap of 36 feet, 8.25 inches. Sophomore Rebekah Beard (sophomore, Geneseo, Ill.) was fifth (34-2.75).
“We’re usually just focused on doing what we need to,” Sturman said. “However, I think it’s always a good motivator to go out there and be the best that day.”
Senior thrower Emily Burt (Freeport, Ill.) was third in the shot put (40-4.25) and fifth in the weight throw (52-10.75). Kennedy Morris (senior, Earlham) was second in the weight throw (54-10.25) and Jamila Love (freshman, Wichita, Kan., East HS) was fifth in the shot put (39-5.75).
Tori Van Velzen (senior, Cumming, Norwalk HS) cleared 5-1 in the high jump, placing third.
In the 60-meter dash, Allyson Woods (junior, Milan, Rockridge HS) qualified for the finals in seventh place but moved up to fourth place in the final (8.15 seconds).
“It’s been a rough year for her and we’ve been working through it each week,” Sturman said. “We’re trying to get her back to where she was at the end of last year. She’s making progress so we hopefully we can continue that trend.”
Mary Gray (junior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) was second in the 60-meter hurdles (9.32 seconds) and Kiki Pingel (junior, Pella) was third (9.33 seconds).
“It’s exciting to see them hurdling better,” Sturman said. “It’ll be good to see them continue that trend and drop some more time closer to the conference meet.”
Mari Stein (freshman, Okoboji) was third in the Mile (5:12.90) and Hailey Hill (freshman, Las Vegas, Nevada, West Career & Technical Academy) was fifth in the 3,000-meter run (11:13.73
Central will travel to Waverly for the Wartburg Invitational next Saturday.
