WAVERLY – Two Central College track and field relay units found the marks they needed to clinch a spot in the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships while running at the Wartburg Final Qualifier Saturday night.
There were no team scores kept.
The men’s distance medley relay race was one of the fastest in Division III so far this season and the Dutch quartet of Adam Sylvia (fifth year, Rochester, Mass., Old Rochester HS), Noah Erickson (senior, Mount Vernon), Jack Brown (freshman, Norwalk) and Noah Jorgenson (senior, Sidney) were the champions in 9 minutes, 50.50 seconds. With the flat track conversion, Central became the No. 2 national qualifier in the event.
“Every year the DMR is an event that everyone waits until the last week to make an impact,” coach Brandon Sturman said. “It was cool to see those guys step up and set another school record on the way to a spot at nationals.” The women’s 4×400-meter relay team finished third in 3:52.58 but Lizzy Van Utrecht (freshman, Ottumwa, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS), Ava Parkins (freshman, Monmouth, Ill., Burlington Notre Dame HS), Abby Gruver (senior, Sully, Lynnville-Sully HS) and Abbi Roerdink (senior, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS) are in position to qualify for the national meet with the 10th fastest time nationally.
“It was a really awesome race,” Sturman said. “What they’ve done the last two weeks is unbelievable. They did everything they needed to and then some.” Roerdink also improved her qualifying time in the 400-meter dash, winning the event in 57.01 seconds. She’s up to No. 11 in Division III.
“She said she was nervous going in,” Sturman said. “She trusted her training and ran the best race of her life. Breaking the school record was her main goal going into the weekend.” Kale Purcell (junior, Holton, Kan.) had another personal-best mark in the triple jump (47 feet, 0.75 inches) to win the event. While he did improve his qualifying chances, he remains outside of the top 20 and will need a few scratches to get a spot next weekend. Caroline McMartin (senior, Pella) won the women’s 800 meters in 2:13.42, marking another indoor school record. Megan Johnson (senior, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) was third in 2:14.15. Reid Pakkebier (senior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) was the runner-up in the men’s 60-meter hurdles (8.26 seconds) and Emily McMartin (sophomore, Pella) was third in the women’s 200-meter dash (25.83 seconds).
