LINCOLN, NEBRASKA—A pair of Saturday wins helped the Central College men's track and field team wrap up fourth place at the American Rivers Championships.
           
Central finished with 121.5 points. Loras College held off the University of Dubuque for first place 194.5-185 with Wartburg College third at 178. Host Nebraska Wesleyan University was fifth with 80.
           
"Being able to accomplish what we did with the lineup that we put out there is really good," coach Brandon Sturman said. "Obviously, we want to continue to get better as a program and move up those ranks. It's not an easy task because it's a really strong conference. It's a big challenge but we're going to take it on. But regardless, we're still happy about where we finished and how we finished off the weekend. "
           
Noah Jorgenson (senior, Sidney) secured his first conference outdoor crown, winning the 1,500 meters in 3:50.09. He was also fifth in the 800 meters in 1:55.93. And Kale Purcell (junior, Holton, Kan.)  snared the triple jump title, going 47 feet, 6.5 inches.
           
"It's been a long time coming for Kale," Sturman said. "He's been battling with those guys in indoors and getting bumped out but then getting it outdoors is exciting."
           
Yet one of the more remarkable stories of the weekend came in the pole vault where Brody Klein (senior, Rainier, Wash.), rebounded from a major injury suffered late in the football season and finished second at 15-3.5. He was only recently cleared to begin competing.
           
"What he's been able to accomplish in the last six months is pretty incredible," Sturman said. "To come off an injury like that and not just get back to doing something but to do something and set a lifetime best is unbelievable. It's an amazing feat. I couldn't be more happy for him, as a senior, to be able to overcome that and get to do something that he really loves in potentially his last meet."
           
Kaleb Brand (senior, Mount Vernon) was narrowly edged in the 400 meters, placing second in a career-best 47.82 seconds.
           
"He accomplished a lot of good things this weekend," Sturman said. "I think he's a little frustrated to not have been able to win the 400 but with the effort that he gave yesterday in the 4x800, we knew it would be a tall task. But he ran a phenomenal race and then he came back and ran a great leg in the 4x400 to set ourselves up for nationals."
           
Central was third in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:15.05 with Noah Erickson (senior, Mount Vernon), JD Elefson (sophomore, Ankeny, North Polk HS), Jrake Van Hemert (sophomore, Pella) and Brand.
           
"We got stuck in the slow heat but those guys were amazing," Sturman said. "I couldn't ask more than what they did. We were hoping to just get a little bit better than last week but dropped almost two seconds and set ourselves up for an opportunity to get to nationals, which is exciting.
           
The Dutch were seventh in the 4x100-meter relay in 42.79 seconds with the team of Connor Miklos (senior, Lockport, Ill, Providence Catholic HS), Jackson Moats (senior, Bettendorf, Pleasant Valley HS), Elefson and Erickson.
           
Gavin Smith (sophomore, Audubon), coming off his decathlon win Friday, was fourth in the javelin at 178-2. In the 110-meter hurdles, Gunner Meyer (sophomore, Fairbank, Wapsie Valley HS) was fourth in 14.60 seconds.  Jorgenson Caleb Silver (5th-year, Conrad, BCLUW HS) was third in the 5,000 meters in 15:03.5 with Randy Jimenez (junior, Liberty Center, Southeast Warren HS) fourth in 15:12.00.
           
The Dutch are now all-in on getting qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Championships May 23-25 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Several Central athletes will head to a last-chance meet at the Augustana Qualifier in Rock Island, Illinois.