ST. LOUIS, MO. — The Central College men's and women's track and field distance crew went down to St. Louis for the Washington University Distance Carnival and came back with a plethora of personal-best times.

The distance carnival was exclusive for the 5,000-meter run, 10,000-meter run and 3,000-meter steeplechase. The Dutch brought a large contingent of athletes to a large field full of NCAA Division I and II athletes.
           
"We had a lot of really good performances tonight on both the men's and women's sides," coach Joe Dunham said. "I'm very happy with the overall effort and competitiveness of our crew. Almost everyone had a PR tonight."
           
Nine Dutch women contested the 5,000-meter run, led by Addison Parrott (freshman, Danville) in 55th place in 18:50.47.  Alyssa Mayhew (sophomore, North Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) was next for the Dutch in 18:55.11 and in 61st place.
           
"I thought Alyssa really had a great race," Dunham said. "To get under 19 is a huge step for her and will serve as a great confidence booster moving forward. Addison has dealt with some minor injuries that have really kept her from being able to train but she had a nice lifetime PR."
In the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Caroline McMartin (junior, Pella) dropped five seconds off her previous-best time to finish 12th of 20.
           
Noah Jorgenson (sophomore, Sidney) was Central's top men's entry in the 5,000 meters, placing 20 th in 14:49.49. Will DeHaan (senior, DeWitt, Central DeWitt HS) finished 31st in 14:59.31
Caleb Silver (junior, Conrad, BCLUW HS) was 60th in 15:28.01
           
"Noah and Will had enormous PR's and are running at a really high level right now," Dunham said.
           
Central hosts the Central Invitational next Friday in Pella, starting with field events at noon.