GRINNELL — For the first time this season, the Central College men's and women's track and field teams both earned team titles at the Darren Young Classic hosted by Grinnell College Saturday.
The Dutch women eclipsed their closest competitor by 99 points to win the championship with 174 points. Central's men won the title with 138 points.
"We were able to bring a larger contingent to a meet where other teams didn't have as much depth as us," coach
Brandon Sturman said. "It's always a positive thing to win a meet."
Central's male hurdlers were dominant in the 60-meter hurdles as five of the eight finalists were Central athletes.
Reid Pakkebier (junior, Cedar Rapids, Kennedy HS) was the best of the bunch, setting a new personal best of 8.23 seconds to win.
Grant Miller (sophomore, Norwalk) was second in 8.30 seconds and
Connor Miklos (senior, Lockport, Ill., Providence Catholic HS) was third in 8.37 seconds.
"That was exiting to see so many guys in the final and so many personal bests," Sturman said.
Pakkebier and teammate
Gage Huyser (sophomore, Pella) both had a mark of 20 feet, 11.75 inches in the men's long jump but Huyser took first-place honors based on a tiebreaker.
"It's just good to see him compete this weekend," Sturman said. "He's been training through a lot of things injury wise and we're excited to see him build some confidence."
Olivia Bohlen (freshman, Belle Plaine) completed the 60-meter hurdles sweep for the Dutch with a winning time of 9.30 in the women's race.
"We're continuing to work on her craft," Sturman said. "The hurdles are her main event outside of the multis. It was good to see her get the win against good competition."
Erasing her own school record in the women's pole vault,
Amber Vroman (junior, Seneca, Ill.) cleared the bar at 11-3.
"She's been walking towards this after getting hurt last year," Sturman said. "We're excited for her, and we'll keep trying to build on that with conference coming up."
Other individual champions for Central were
Kale Purcell (junior, Holton, Kan.) in the men's triple jump (46-0),
Kale Hobart (freshman, Mason City) in the men's high jump (6-1.5) and
Sara Goodenbour (junior, Cedar Falls) in the women's mile (5:23.47).
Noah Erickson (senior, Mount Vernon), Jrake Van Hemet (sophomore, Pella), Hobart and
JD Elefson (sophomore, Ankeny, North Polk HS) won the men's 4x400-meter relay in 3:25.64.
Abbi Roerdink (senior, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS), Abby Gruver (senior, Suly, Lynnville-Sully HS), Lauren Brown (senior, Underwood) and
Lizzy Van Utrecht (freshman, Ottumwa, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) won the women's 4x400-meter relay in 4;02.83.
Ava Parkins (freshman, Monmouth, Ill., Burlington Notre Dame HS) finished in second in the women's 60-meter dash. Her preliminary time of 7.96 seconds comes in at No. 7 on Central's all-time list for the event.
"We're really excited about what she did today," Sturman said. "She had a great 4x400 split, too."
The majority of Central's roster will compete at the Liz Wuertz Invitational next Saturday in Waverly. The distance medley relay teams for both genders are scheduled to run at the Eagle Open hosted by the University of Wisconsin – LaCrosse Friday night.
