PELLA — Exceeding all external expectations, the Central College men's track and field team won the program's 18th Iowa Conference Outdoor Track and Field Saturday afternoon at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium.
With 144 points, the Dutch outdistanced the University of Dubuque by 28 points for the crown.
Coach
Joe Dunham and the Dutch have now won three of the last four outdoor league titles (2015, 2016, 2018) and 18 total.
"I give all the credit to the assistant coaches," he said. "They do such a good job with our team. It took a lot of hard work from our student-athletes and it's been a lot of fun.
"We have a motto at the conference meet of "get one." Whether that's one more inch or one more person at the finish line. There was example after example of our men doing that all weekend."
Sweeping both of Saturday's throwing events was pivotal for the Dutch in the team race.
Nathan Fitzgerald (junior, Elkader, Central HS) was the winner of the discus throw (156-11) and
Ryan Kruse (senior, St. Clair, Minn.) defended his javelin throw victory (188-1.
Kruse was also second in the discus throw (154-2).
Michael Firkins (senior, Centerville) was fourth in the javelin throw (167-2),
Will Daniels (sophomore, Geneseo, Ill.) was fifth (164-7) and Fitzgerald was sixth (161-4).
"It changed the whole feeling of the weekend," Dunham said. "Every time I turned around, somebody in the throws was doing something special."
After defending his 3,000-meter steeplechase crown last night,
Mark Fairley (senior, Dubuque) was a repeat champion in the 1,500-meter run (3:54.16).
Jon Specht (senior, Dubuque, Hempstead HS) and
Taylor Donner (senior, Dubuque) added fourth (3:55.70) and eighth-place (4:03.34) finishes.
Specht was also one of three scorers in the 800-meter run for Central.
Preston Kizer (sophomore, Dubuque) was second (1:56.06),
Kyle Pape (junior, Dubuque, Wahlert Catholic HS) was fourth (1:56.42) and Specht was fifth (1:56.73)
"Our distance program did a great job this weekend,." "They've all worked really hard to establish themselves in the conference and they defended that here this weekend."
The final event on the track was an all-Iowa Conference performance by the 4x400-meter relay team of
Mitchell Yaw (junior, Orange City, MOC-Floyd Valley HS),
Blake Morgan (junior, Story City, Roland-Story HS),
Trevor Ruiz (senior, Hudson) and
Hunter Howe (senior, La Plata, Mo.) after crossing the line in 3:18.87.
"They've earned it," Dunham said. "I couldn't be happier for them."
Yaw also placed sixth in the 400-meter dash (49.95).
Tanner Johnson (freshman, Gallatin, Mo.) became just the 10th Central pole vaulter to clear 14 feet outdoors in the pole vault with a clearance of 14-1.25. He finished second, one spot ahead of Daniels (13-7.25).
"Tanner had a breakthrough with a larger pole and it helped give him a chance to win," Dunham said. "There's a reason his teammates voted him our team's Freshman of the Year."
Daniels also had an eighth-place outing in the 110-meter hurdles (15.68 seconds).
Individually,
Justin Wimbish (senior, Glendale, Ariz., Apollo HS) had a fourth-place time in the 200-meter dash (22.07 seconds) and a seventh-place effort in the 100-meter dash (11.18 seconds).
"He was not expected to really do anything all weekend from a points standpoint," "He showed up all weekend and that last 200 I think meant the most. A great way for him to go out as a senior."
Cory Suedmeier (sophomore, Ankeny, Centennial HS), Wimbish, Morgan and Howe were also fifth in the 4x100-meter relay (42.45)
???????A handful of Central athletes will extend their season at last chance meets next week at Augustana College (Ill.) and North Central College (Ill.).
