LAWRENCE, KAN. — A group of primarily hurdlers and sprinters represented the Central College track & field team well with good marks at the Kansas Relays Friday and Saturday.
           
Gunner Meyer (junior, Fairbank, Wapsie Valley HS) and Grant Miller (junior, Norwalk) both won their preliminary heats of the men's 110-meter hurdles on Friday to advance to Saturday's final. Meyer was the runner-up in 14.27 seconds while Miller was sixth in 14.51.
           
"It makes a coach happy when they win their heats because I didn't have to worry about if they ran fast enough to make the final," assistant coach Jim Fuller said. "It's a pretty competitive meet and so it was a big step for them to go out and win a heat."
           
Men's triple jumper Kale Purcell (senior, Holton, Kan.) matched his own school record, finishing fourth in 48-0.5.

"I enjoyed watching him jump," Fuller said. "He had a couple marked as fouls, but they weren't foot faults. He got his chest over his feet and couldn't quite jump from that position."

The women's 4x400-meter relay team had a dominant win in the collegiate division, winning the race in 3:53.50. Lizzy Van Utrecht (sophomore, Ottumwa, Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont HS) led off and was followed by Alivia Roerdink (sophomore, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS), Emily McMartin (junior, Pella) and Ava Parkins (sophomore, Monmouth, Ill., Burlington Notre Dame [Iowa] HS). The quartet was hampered by only four of the scheduled 15 teams competing.

"I thought they ran really well," Fuller said. "It's just too bad we weren't in a better race, we would have run a little faster. We were sixty meters ahead of second place at the finish."

McMartin added a 14th place finish in the 200 meters (25.27) and Roerdink was also 14th in the 400 meters (57.72).

"Emily ran the first curve against the wind so it was a good run with the conditions," Fuller said. "Alivia is turning into a pretty good quarter-miler."

Central will be competing next week at the Drake Relays in Des Moines and the Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola.
 
Women's results
100-meter dash (prelims) – 20. Ava Parkins, 12.54; 28. Mary Gustason, 12.86
200-meter dash (prelims) –14. Emily McMartin, 25.27
400-meter run (prelims) – 14. Alivia Roerdink, 57.72
4x400-meter relay Collegiate Division – 1. Van Utrecht/Roerdink/McMartin/Parkins, 3:53.50
 
Men's results
4x100 relay (prelims) – 16. Meyer/Miller/Miklos/Nelson, 43.12
110-meter hurdles (prelims) – 5. Grant Miller, 14.54; 7. Gunner Meyer, 14.66; 14. Connor Miklos, 15.20
110-meter hurdles (finals) – 2. Gunner Meyer, 14.27; 6. Grant Miller, 14.51
Triple jump – 4. Kale Purcell, 48-0.5
High jump – 15. Gunner Meyer, 6-5