Record falls for Dutch at Drake Relays
Central College
DES MOINES—Central College distance runners took down another school record Thursday night at the Drake Relays. The squad of Drew Jackson (sophomore, Johnston), Kyle Nuehring (freshman, Waukee), Cole Decker (freshman, Des Moines, Dowling Catholic HS) and Eli Horton (sophomore, Southeast Polk HS) finished sixth in the seldom-run 4×1600-meter relay with a mark of 17 minutes, 17.17 seconds.
The foursome cracked one of the oldest marks in the Dutch record books. The previous standard of 17:23.9 was set in 1981 by the team of Pete Anderson, Marley Wubbena, Mark Muyskens, and Paul Sparks. Central competed in a field loaded with Division I competition and was the first Division III finisher.
“It was a lot of fun to run that event and set a new record,” said coach Joe Dunham.
Earlier in the day, Eric Larson (sophomore, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) followed a strong day-one performance with a lifetime best in the decathlon, scoring 6,717 points to take eighth overall and first among Division III competitors. Larson recorded marks of 15.4 in the 110-meter hurdles, 115 feet, nine inches in the discus throw, 12-5.5 in the pole vault, 138-7 in the javelin throw, and 4:40.87 in the 1,500 meters. He is currently ranked first on the Division III performance list.
“Eric had a great day and was really able to stay focused, especially during some difficulties at the early heights in the pole vault,” said Dunham. “It was fun for him to set a personal best at this meet.”
The Dutch alumni also had strong showing in the final decathlon standings. Peter Wagner and Kurtis Brondyke scored 6,899 and 6,869 points respectively to take fourth and fifth, while Ethan Miller finished a disappointing 11th after failing to record a mark in the discus.
Mel McDermott (senior, Britt, West Hancock HS) rounded out the evening with a 32-place finish in the 10,000-meters in a time of 37:52.96.
“Mel was able to run a season’s best,” said Dunham. “It wasn’t exactly where she wanted to finish but it certainly wasn’t for lack of effort. We were proud of her race.”
The Dutch will resume competition Friday morning with a pair of 4×100-meter relays slated to begin at 8:58 a.m. Central will send the remainder of the squad to the Simpson Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola. Events are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.
