Johnson Headlines Central’s Weekly Conference Awards

A pair of school records and top-10 national marks propelled Central College women’s track and field athlete Megan Johnson to be named the American Rivers Conference Female Athlete of the Week.

Pitchers Mark Kenney and Emma Beck were selected as the pitcher of the week in baseball and softball, respectively. Johnson was also the women’s track athlete of the week.

Johnson won the open division of the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California. She holds the top spot in Division III this season with a time of 10 minutes, 19.79 seconds, and is also No. 7 nationally in the 1,500 meters after running a time of 4:31.06. Central’s track and field squad will compete at the John Green Combined Events at Doane University (Neb.) and the Augustana Meet of Champions in Rock Island, Illinois this weekend.

Kenney had a complete game shutout Saturday against the University of Dubuque in a 4-0 win. He struck out six while allowing four hits over nine innings. He induced a pair of double plays to face just 30 batters over 27 outs. Central’s baseball team plays a three-game series at Simpson this weekend.

Beck won a pair of five-inning contests last week against Wartburg and Dubuque. She faced 44 batters, allowing just seven hits and an earned run average of 1.80. She’s now 7-2 on the season. The Dutch softball team hosts Simpson College for a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 1 pm.

Central Softball and Women’s Track and Field Teams Move Up In National Rankings

The Central College softball and women’s track and field teams moved up in the national rankings in their respective sports on Tuesday.

The Dutch softball squad leaped five spots in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll to No. 19. The Dutch improved to 19-6 with a pair of dominant American Rivers Conference sweeps last week. Central rocked Wartburg College 10-2 and 8-0 in a pair of five-inning games, then notched a 15-5 five-inning win along with a 10-2 victory at the University of Dubuque. The Dutch are the only school in the conference in the rankings, although Coe College is among those receiving votes. 

Making another big jump, the Central women’s track and field team moved up to No. 7 in the fourth edition of the USTFCCCA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Team Rating Index. The Dutch have nine entries in the top 10 and 15 in the top 50. Megan Johnson paces the field in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:19.79. Caroline McMartin is third (10:30.78) and Addison Parrott is 10th (10:49.07) in the same event. McMartin is second in the 5,000 meters (16:29.11) and ninth in the 1,500 meters (4:31.63). Johnson is also sixth in the 10,000 meters (35:00.33) and seventh in the 1,500 meters (4:31.06). Abbi Roerdink is fifth in the 400-meter dash (55.93) and anchors the ninth place 4×400-meter relay team (3:53.05). Lizzy Van Utrecht, Ava Parkins, and Emily McMartin make up the first three legs of the relay team.

The Dutch softball team is home Saturday for a key doubleheader with Simpson College starting at 1 p.m. at the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex softball field. Central’s women’s track and field team has entries at the John Green Combined Events at Doane University (Neb.) and the Augustana Meet of Champions in Illinois this week.