WAVERLY — In its final meet before the American Rivers Conference Championships next weekend, the Central College men's and women's track and field team competed at the Liz Wuertz Invitational hosted by Wartburg College Saturday.

There were no team scores kept at the five-team meet. Central did not send its full roster.

"It's a nice small meet so it gives everyone a lot of opportunities," coach Brandon Sturman said. "At the same time, it's still competitive. We can focus on what we need to do to get better, whether that's improving our technique or improving our seed mark."

The Dutch men swept the throwing events while setting new personal-best marks. Theo Baldus (senior, St. Ansgar) had the top weight throw of 53 feet, 9 inches and Thomas Spoehr (senior, Bennington, Neb.) had the best shot put of 48-0.75. Baldus was also third in the shot put (45-1.75)

"Theo is inching closer and closer to 17 meters (55-9) which is super exciting," Sturman said. "He's setting himself up for a potential spot for nationals.

"It was cool for Thomas to break his PR after hitting the same mark three times in a row. It wasn't a huge PR but we're still progressing and being consistent."

Central took the top-two spots of the 400-meter run and the 800-meter run. Nolan Reynolds (junior, Montezuma) was first in the 400 in 50.88 and Grant Boyse (junior, Wellman, Mid-Prairie HS) was second in 51.30. In the 800, Adam Sylvia (junior, Rochester, Mass., Old Rochester HS) was the winner in 1:54.26 and Will DeHaan (senior, DeWitt, Central DeWitt HS) was second in 1:54.40. Reynolds was also third in the 200-meter dash (22.97). Caleb Silver (junior, Conrad, BCLUW HS) added a third-place finish in the 3,00-meter run (8:40.97).

Abby Gruver (sophomore, Sully, Lynnville-Sully HS) broke the 10-second mark in the women's 60-meter hurdles, finishing third in 9.97 seconds.
           
"Abby had a great day," Sturman said. "She made strides in the hurdles and it was exciting to see a week out from conference."

Other top-three finishers on the women's side included Megan Johnson (sophomore, Parkerburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) in the 5,000-meter run (second, 5:20.35), Lauren Brown (sophomore, Underwood) in the 400-meter run (third, 1:00.54) and Caroline McMartin (sophomore, Pella) in the 3,000-meter run (third, 10:12.29).
           
"Overall, on the women's side there were some good PR's," Sturman said.
           
Central will compete at the American Rivers Conference Championships next Friday and Saturday at the University of Dubuque.