PELLA— Claiming three event titles, the Central College men's and women's track and field teams kicked off the outdoor season Thursday at the Central Dutch Invitational.

Thursday's season opener was only for Central's sprinters, hurdlers and field events athletes as nearly the entirety of the distance crew is competing Friday in Missouri.

"For the first outdoor meet of the season, I was pretty excited about what most of the team did today," coach Brandon Sturman said. "It's tough sometimes to transition back after spring break. We did a good job of staying focused on what we need to do."

On the men's side, Kale Purcell (junior, Holton, Kan.) won the opening triple jump of the year, reaching 46 feet, 2.75 inches.

"I think he would have liked to have done more," Sturman said. "I was happy with what he was doing but I just don't know if his speed is where it needs to be right now but we've still got time."

In the 400-meter dash, Kaleb Brand (senior, Mount Vernon) crossed the line in 49.67 seconds to win in his first track and field action of the season. Teammate Jrake Van Hemert (sophomore, Pella) was fifth in 51. 19 seconds.

"It's exciting to see him get a mark that fast this earlier coming off of basketball," Sturman asid. "Our focus this year is keeping him healthier than last year by not doing too much too soon. We can slowly make progress to get even faster so we can see what we can do at the end of they year."

The 4x100-meter relay team of Connor Miklos (senior, Lockport, Ill., Providence Catholic HS), Jackson Moats (senior, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS), JD Elefson (sophomore, Ankeny, North Polk HS) and Noah Erickson (senior, Mount Vernon) finished third in 42.52 seconds.  Miklos was also fifth in the 60-meter hurdles in 15.60 seconds.

Other top-five finishes for the Dutch men were Grant Miller (sophomore, Norwalk) in the javelin throw (fourth, 162-9), Alex Miller (junior, Aurora, Ill., Waubonsie Valley HS) in the pole vault (12-7.5) and Brayden Harris (senior, Eldora, South Hardin HS) in the 400-meter hurdles (57.89 seconds)
 
Central's women's 4x400-meter relay team started the season by going under four minutes with a winning time of 3:59.48. Lizzy Van Utrecht (freshman, Ottumwa, Eddville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) led the quartet off before giving way to Emily McMartin (sophomore, Pella), Abby Gruver (senior, Sully, Lynnville-Sully HS) and Ava Parkins (freshman, Monmouth, Ill., Burlington Notre Dame [Iowa] HS).

McMartin and Parkins were joined by Abbi Roerdink (senior, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS) and Mary Gustason (sophomore, Marion, Linn-Mar HS) to cross the line in 48.26 seconds for runner-up honors in the 4x100-meter relay. McMartin also had a runner-up finish in the 200-meter dash in 26.13 seconds.

"It was a strong opening outdoor meet for Emily," Sturman said. "She's continuing to build her confidence, especially in the 4x400 relay. That whole group did a great job to break four minutes"

Roerdink also placed fourth in the 800-meter run in 2:22.70. It was the sprinter's second competitive 800 race.
           
"She likes mentally to do some other things and train through some meets," Sturman said. "This was a good way for her to open the season and work on some fitness and strength."

Central also had top-three finishes from Alyssa Mayhew (senior, North Aurora, Ill., West Aurora HS) in the 1500-meter run (second, 4:54.64), Amber Vroman (junior, Seneca, Ill.) in the pole vault (second, 10-8), Gruver in the 400-meter hurdles (third, 1:05.32), Allison Van Gorp (junior, Pella Christian) in the discus throw (127-9) and Cadence Sinclair (freshman, Carlisle) in the high jump (tied for second, 5-1).  

Central's distance crew will compete Friday at the Washington University Distance Carnival in St. Louis, Missouri.