PELLA—Making a stout defense of its home turf, the No. 17-rated Central College women's cross country team turned in seven all-conference finishes and surged to second place at the American Rivers Championships Saturday, its highest conference finish since 1986.
           
The Dutch put four runners in the top eight with Megan Johnson (senior, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) grabbing second place in 22:00.3 on the 6,000-meter Central course, just ahead of all-American Caroline McMartin (senior, Pella), who took third in 22:02.7.
           
No. 3-ranked Wartburg College claimed the other four spots in the top eight to hold off Central in the team standings, 27-37, with Simpson College third at 92 and Loras College fourth at 116. The Dutch were seventh in the conference when Johnson and McMartin were freshmen in 2020 and the squad climbed to third the last two seasons.
           
"It was a great performance by our women," said coach Joe Dunham, who along with assistants Brandon Sturman and Allen Walz, received conference coaching staff of the year award honors. "They fought through all the nerves and things that come with competition like this. They know they're a good team and that puts on more pressure, but they've handled that really well. Our depth played a role for sure."
           
It was the first time this season that Johnson, a track and field all-America honoree, topped Central's finishers and it was the highest conference finish for both. Johnson missed last year's meet while studying abroad and was 13th in 2021.
           
"Megan is an unbelievable runner," Dunham said. "I think people forget how many top runners are in this conference that are all going to be fighting for top-10 or top-15 spots at the national meet in three weeks. Megan's a tough runner who trains hard and races well, and today she had a great race."
           
McMartin is now a four-time all-conference honoree, placing 15th in 2020, eighth in 2021 and seventh last year.
 
           
"It was just five seconds from first place to Caroline and we're excited about her performance," Dunham said. "She's getting better every time we race so that's what we're looking for."
           
The nature of the race impacted the individual finishes, Dunham said.
           
"It got out a little slower and so it was just a big pack right there in front for a long time," he said. "When you have a tactical race it opens the door for a lot of people to be up there in the mix for a longer period of time."
           
Addison Parrott (junior, Danville) finished seventh in 22:17.7, Kira Hooper (junior, Henderson, N.C., Cirrus Valley HS) was eighth in 22:29.5 and Central got a big lift from Sara Goodenbour (junior, Cedar Falls), who was 17th in 23:24.9, her career best. She was 86th in last year's conference meet. Peyton Steffen (sophomore, Marion) was 19th in 23:29.4 and Leah Bontrager (sophomore, Wellman, Hillcrest Academy) was 20th in 23:33.8.
           
The Dutch will attempt to crack the NCAA Division III national meet field with a strong showing Nov. 11 at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Waverly. Central narrowly missed a national berth last year, placing fifth in the regional. McMartin has qualified as an individual the past two seasons, gaining all-America honors last year with a 24th-place national finish.
           
Dunham praised his runners for the massive strides the Dutch program has made in recent years.
           
"I'm really pleased with their hard work," Dunham said. "They've put together a lot of great workouts and a lot of great races. Credit goes to them for just being resilient. It's been a great progression and we're excited about that."