Kruse named Central’s 25th recipient of NCAA scholarship

Central Dutch Athletics

PELLA—All-American men’s track and field athlete Ryan Kruse (St. Clair, Minn.) added another exclamation point to his illustrious career as the recent Central College grad was named a recipient of the NCAA postgraduate scholarship for academic and athletics excellence.

Kruse, a mathematics major, graduated with a 3.74 grade point average. He will receive $7,500 for postgraduate study and is one of just 29 male scholarship recipients for the spring 2018 season.

Fairley becomes the 25th winner of the NCAA postgraduate scholarship for Central since 1970 when former NFL star Vern Den Herder was honored. He’s the second Dutch athlete honored during the 2017-18 academic year as Mark Fairley (grad, Dubuque) was honored during the fall as a member of the men’s cross country team. Football players Taylor Cox (2015) and Riley Gray (2016) as well as men’s track and field sprinter Spencer Hammack (2015) are other recent winners for the Dutch.

There were 57 men’s and women’s fall sport recipients selected. The NCAA awards up to 175 postgraduate scholarships annually. To be eligible for selection, a student-athlete must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or above, have performed with distinction in athletics, and behaved—both on and off the field—in a manner that brought credit to the student-athlete, the institution and intercollegiate athletics.

Kruse earned his All-American status during the 2018 indoor season after finishing third in the heptathlon (5, 124 points) at the national meet. The school record-holder in the javelin throw, Kruse finished 12th in the event at the national meet last weekend. Kruse is a five-time all-Iowa Conference and four-time all-USTFCCCA all-Central Region performer.

Kruse also qualified for the 2017 outdoor national meet, competing in the decathlon.

Men’s tennis player Brady Anderson (Coe College) and fellow men’s track and field athlete Tanner Dewey (Nebraska Wesleyan University) also represented the Iowa Conference.

Central’s NCAA postgraduate scholarship winners

1970 – Vern Den Herder, football

1973 – Dana Snoap, men’s basketball

1980 – Jeff Verhoef, men’s basketball

1982 – Cam Ratering, women’s cross country, track

1983 – Lisa Broek, women’s track

1986 – Scott Lindell, football

1988 – Rick Perry, football

1989 – Chris Hoffman, wrestling

1991 – Rich Kacmarynski, football

1995 – Emilie Hanson, women’s basketball

Rick Sanger, football

2001 – Roger Dortch, men’s golf

2002 – Tony Brownlee, men’s track and field

Jon Hietbrink, men’s golf

2004 – Raegan Schultz, women’s track and field

2005 – Jamie Stark, volleyball

2006 – Nick Cochrane, men’s tennis

Adam Duerfeldt, baseball

2007 – Ben Bollard, men’s track and field

Alicia Whisner, women’s track and field

2015 – Spencer Hammack, men’s track and field

Taylor Cox, football

2016 – Riley Gray, football

2017 – Mark Fairley, men’s cross country

2018 – Ryan Kruse, men’s track and field