Record-Setting Run for Central’s McMartin in Boston
Establishing a new school record for the second time in as many weeks, Central College women’s track and field distance runner Caroline McMartin (junior, Pella) put on a show in the 5,000-meter run Friday morning.
McMartin’s time of 17 minutes, 29.58 seconds placed her 10th in the unseeded 5,000 at Boston University’s David Hemery Invitational. It was her first collegiate indoor 5,000 and she reset the school record by 15 seconds. Teammate Megan Johnson (junior, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS) also bested the previous school record, taking 16th in 17:43.47 and moving up to No. 2 in Dutch program history. A third Dutch runner, Hailey Hill (senior, Las Vegas, Nevada, West Career and Technical Academy) moved into No. 9 in program history with a time of 18:34.10, and finished 55th. McMartin just missed a second school record in the mile run, clocking in at 5:03.59.
Central has four men’s runners in Boston who will compete today, while the rest of the Dutch track and field squad will be at the Darren Young Classic in Grinnell.
Dutch Wrestling Wraps Up Home Slate with Tournament
Winning titles at four weights, the Central College wrestling team closed out the regular season Friday by hosting the Last Chance Invitational. No team scores were kept at the six-team meet featuring primarily reserves and underclassmen.
Central closed out a busy week that also included dual wins over William Penn University 37-15 on Tuesday and 30-9 on Thursday.
The five Central seniors who were not in the dual lineup Thursday night got their chance at the tournament. Jordan Bendorf (senior, San Diego, Calif., Bonita Vista HS) won his only match by fall, splitting first place with teammates Duncan Delzell (junior, Burlington) and Leo Blawou (junior, Des Moines, Lincoln HS). Christian Wilson (senior, Houston, Texas., Cypress Ridge HS) and Ryne Mohrfeld (senior, Lisbon) were second at 184 and 157 pounds, respectively. Carlos Ramos (senior, Sahuarita, Ariz., Walden Grove HS) was fifth at 157 and Julian Rodriguez (senior, Escondido, Calif.) competed at 165 pounds.
Gage Linahon (junior, Newton) was 4-0 at 197 pounds to take the title. Cory Hoyle (freshman, Morton, Ill.) was 3-0 at 125 pounds to win that crown. Sam West (Burlington, Notre Dame HS) and Landon Kirby (sophomore, Grinnell) went 2-0 and shared the 174-pound championship.
Central is off for two weeks until the NCAA Division III Lower Midwest Regional on February 24 and 25. The 18-team competition has been moved to Springfield, Illinois this season. The top-three finishers at each class advance to the NCAA Division III Championships in Roanoke, Virginia on March 10 and 11.
Central Starts Men’s Tennis Season Victoriously
Playing in an unorthodox order did not dismay the Central College men’s tennis team from securing a 5-4 win against Bethel University (Minn.) Friday.
Dual matches typically start with three doubles matches before moving onto six singles matches. Due to a scheduling conflict at the Owatonna Tennis Center, the two teams started the night with singles. The Dutch (1-0) rattled off four wins to put themselves a point away from clinching the match before the start of the doubles against the Royals (0-2)
Central started strong at the top with a 6-4, 6-2 win from Trey Melvin (senior, Lawrence, Kan., Free State HS) at No. 1 and a 6-3, 6-3 win from Nick Scott (junior, Fort Benton, Mont., Great Falls Central Catholic HS) at No. 2. The Dutch added a 6-2, 6-2 win by Matthew Den Adel (senior, Ankeny, Centennial HS) at No. 5 and AJ Wilkins (sophomore, Grinnell) was 7-5, 6-3 at No. 6 in his Dutch debut. Ayden Fletcher (sophomore, Waukee) and Caleb Hamerlinck (senior, Huxley, Ballard HS) put the match on ice with their 8-2 No. 3 doubles victory.
The Dutch have a pair of matches in nearby St. Peter, Minnesota Saturday. It starts with a neutral site match against St. Olaf College (Minn.) at 12:30 p.m. and then a road match at Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) at 4 p.m.