ROCK ISLAND, ILL.—Making the most of last-ditch efforts, a pair of Central College athletes vaulted themselves into contention for NCAA Division III Men's and Women's Track and Field Championships berths Thursday.
           
Kennedy Morris (senior, Earlham), a two-time NCAA indoor meet qualifier, soared past her career-best effort in the women's discus with a toss of 148 feet, 3.1 inches, good for fourth place at the Augustana (Ill.) Twilight Qualifier. More importantly, the throw ranked 12th nationally, pending the results of Thursday's other action. The top 19 women's performers and the top 17 men's performers in each event will gain a spot in the NCAA meet staged May 27-29 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Morris entered the day ranked 20th with her previous best of 141-8. The field will be announced Friday.
           
Also expected to make the women's national field based off earlier performances are Gillian Streit (senior, Manilla, Harlan HS) in the discus and Mary Gray (senior, West Des Moines, Waukee HS) and Kiki Pingel (senior, Pella) in the heptathlon.
           
Meanwhile, sophomore Caleb Silver (Conrad, BCLUW HS) is well-positioned in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase. He slashed 11 seconds off his career best and placed second in 9 minutes, 10.50 seconds, leaping into 10th place nationally, with other results still coming in. He's expected to join Central long jumper Brock Lewis (junior, Lathrop, Mo.) and high jumper Sam Beatty (sophomore, Mount Pleasant) in North Carolina next week.
           
Morris had threatened to pop a qualifying throw earlier but was running out of chances after coming up short Wednesday at the Gregory Invitational at Naperville, Illinois.
           
"Yesterday didn't go the way we wanted it to but she turned it into a great warm-up," coach Brandon Sturman said. "She took advantage of a great atmosphere and a nice, southerly wind that was good for right-handed throwers."
           
Morris was expected to bid for an NCAA berth last year but the season was canceled due to the global pandemic.
           
"This is a great way to cap off her senior year," Sturman said. "She wasn't able to get that chance last year."
           
Silver is new to the steeplechase and making dramatic strides each time out, winning the American Rivers title at Dubuque May 15 in his previous best of 9:21.31.
           
"He's been on a roll," Sturman said. "It's only been his event for the last month but he's just started to figure it out. Now it's just about recovery after running the race two weeks in a row. We've got to keep him fresh."
          
While the young Dutch did not gain any other additional qualifiers, they did record some season and career-best efforts.
               
Carter Tryon (junior, Winterset) was sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in his personal best of 56.1 seconds with Lucas Heitz (sophomore, Adel, ADM HS) ninth in 57.6 seconds. Heitz earlier took fourth in the 110-meter hurdles in 15.16 seconds, also a career best. Placing behind Silver in the steeplechase, Will DeHaan (junior, DeWitt)  was 11th in a personal best of 9:36.56 and Jerry Lotz (senior, Yokosuka, Japan, Nile C. Kinnick HS) was 14th (9:45.75).
           
The 4x400-meter relay unit of Nolan Reynolds (sophomore, Montezuma), Grant Boyse (sophomore, Wellman, Mid-Prairie HS), Noah Jorgenson (freshman, Sidney) and Tryon posted a season best of 3:18.16 in taking ninth place.
           
Luke Pavlat (junior, Pella) was fourth in the javelin (144-2) while Jaxon Thompson (freshman, Marion, Linn-Mar HS) was 13th in the long jump (19-11.75), Drake Lewis (junior, Lathrop, Mo.) was fifth in the high jump (6-1.5) and Theo Baldus (junior, St. Ansgar) was 14th in the discus (148-9.4) with Thomas Spoehr (junior, Bennington, Neb.) 20th (141-6). Baldus was 13th in the hammer throw (154-2).
           
Joseph Stein (freshman, Milford, Spirit Lake HS) was third in the 100 meters (10.77 seconds) and 11th in the 200 (22.32 seconds). Boyse was 11th in the 400 meters (51.18 seconds), Jorgenson was sixth in the 800 (1:53.41) and Nate Sanders (senior, Waukee)  was 18th in the 1,500 (4:04.94).
           
Strong effort from Dutch women's squad--Caroline McMartin (freshman, Pella) slashed more than 20 seconds off her career best in placing fourth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 11:28.73. Elise Thoreson (freshman, Pella) was third in the 400-meter hurdles (1:05.24) and Abby Gruver (freshman, Sully, Lynnville-Sully HS) was sixth (1:09.37) while Hadyn Miller (freshman, Iowa Falls, Iowa Falls-Alden HS) was 13th in the 800 with a personal best of 2:20.76.
           
Morris, who had also hoped to qualify in the hammer throw, placed seventh in 161-7.25. Abby Marr (sophomore, Riceville) was 16th with a personal-best 144-6.5. Kasey Pelzer (freshman, Pleasantville) was 13th in the long jump (16-6), Krissa Larson (junior, Waverly, Waverly-Shell Rock HS) was sixth in the javelin (109-2.25) and Holly Forrester (senior, Manhattan, Kan., Rock Creek HS) was eighth in the triple jump (37-5) while Chloe Morgan (freshman, Pella, Pella Christian HS) was 15th (33-11.75).
           
Sturman had hopes of Forrester qualifying.
           
"She had a heck of a year and a great career," he said. 
           
For many of his athletes, Sturman said Thursday's meet was preparation for future national meet bids.
           
"We're such a young team," he said. "This was just an opportunity to continue to develop. We've made a lot of progress from two years ago."