Strong first day for Dutch multi-eventers
Central College
ST. LOUIS, MO.—All-Americans Ethan Miller (junior, Seymour) and Jill Ziskovsky (senior, Dallas Center, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) are leading the decathlon and heptathlon fields at the Washington Univ. (Mo.) Invitational track and field meet after one day of competition.
Miller accumulated a first-day personal best of 3,835 points after five events. He achieved personal bests in both running events, finishing in 10.97 seconds in the 100-meter dash and 51.14 seconds in the 400 meters, in additional to an NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the long jump (23-10.25). Miller also recorded a distance of 34-11 in the shot put and cleared 6-6.75 in the high jump.
Freshly-minted NCAA pentathlon champion Kurtis Brondyke (senior, Clinton) is one spot behind Miller in second after his first day. Brondyke finished the 100 meters in 11.28 seconds and the 400 meters in 51.81 seconds. He also recorded marks of 21-10 in the long jump and 40-7 in the shot put, as well as clearing a height of 6-5.5 in the high jump.
Teammate Breighen Powell (junior, Wellman, Mid-Prairie HS) and Aaron Fuller (sophomore, Aberdeen, S.D., Roncalli HS) are sitting in fourth (3,248 points) and seventh (2,744 points) respectively.
Meanwhile, Ziskovsky collected 2,701 points after the first four events of the heptathlon to take the halftime lead. She crossed the line in 16.41 seconds in the 100 hurdles and 25.77 in the 200 meters, while recording marks of 5-4.25 in the high jump and 28-8.5 in the shot put.
Teammate Caitlin Wilson (junior, Oakland, Riverside HS) is on pace for a career-best performance after one day. She recorded two lifetime bests, 15.61 seconds in the 100 hurdles and 27.52 seconds in the 200 meters, in addition to clearing 5-3 in the high jump and a 31-5.75 mark in the shot put.
Meanwhile, Morgan Sharp (sophomore, Grinnell) is sitting in eighth place with 2,205 points and Felicia Shunk (junior, Bloomfield, Davis HS) is ninth with 2,165 points.
The meet resumes Saturday with the decathlon starting at 9:30 a.m. and the heptathlon slated to begin at 9:45 a.m. Meanwhile, the rest of the Dutch squad will play host to the Central Invitational, which is scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m. at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.
