GRINNELL — Justin Wimbish (junior, Glendale, Ariz./Apollo HS) had a pair of top-eight finishes to pace the Central College men's track and field squad at the Darren Young Classic on Saturday.

With several key competitors missing, the Dutch were 9th of 11 in the team standings. The Dutch had 22 team points while champion Augustana College (Ill.) had 147.50.

Wimbish racked up a second-place finish in the long jump (21 feet, 11.75 inches) and 200-meter dash (22.73 seconds). He also was the third leg in the 4x400-meter relay team, joining P.J. Carey (junior, Ankeny), Caleb Jennings (sophomore, Spirit Lake) and Blake Morgan (junior, Story City, Roland-Story HS), that scored seventh (3:32.26).

"He had a nice series in the long jump," "associate head coach Jim Fuller said. "He was real close to a season best. It'll be an interesting battle at the conference meet."

Central got a pair of placewinners in the throwing events, Michael Firkins (junior, Centerville) was fifth in the weight throw (51-5.75) and Nathan Fitzgerald (sophomore, Elkader, Central Elkader HS) was sixth in the shot put (48-8)

"Nathan had good throws in prelims," Fuller said. "He's really close to going over 15 meters."

Central's only other placewinner was Tanner Rathje (junior, Marion, Linn-Mar HS) in the 3,000-meter run, who took eighth place in a time of 9:06.11
           
A pair of competitions await the Dutch next weekend as they host the Central Invitational Friday night and a select group will take part in the Iowa Open on Saturday.