Dutch Track and Field Squads Out in Force Friday
Crowing five individual event winners, the Central College men’s and women’s track and field rosters kicked off their season Friday at the Dutch Holiday Preview.
There were no team scores among the six schools in attendance. The Dutch men swept the top three spots in the 60-meter hurdles. Grant Miller won in 8.15 seconds, with Gunner Meyer taking second in 8.16 seconds and Reid Pakkebier in third at 8.25 seconds. Coming off an appearance at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championships, Derek Webster won the men’s 3,000-meter race in 8 minutes, 54.34 seconds. Jack Every was second in 9:00.44. Pole vaulter Kale Hobart had a new personal best mark of 12 feet, 7.5 inches to take third place.
In the women’s pole vault, Amber Vroman broke her own indoor school record with a clearance of 11 feet, 3.75 inches to win the event. Other individual winners for the Dutch women were Olivia Bohlen in the 60-meter hurdles (9.26 seconds) and Teah Miller in the 3,000 meters (11:07.28) Sprinters Ava Parkins and Emily McMartin had a good start to the season in the 60-meter dash, with Parkins finishing third (7.95 seconds) and McMartin taking fourth (7.97 seconds).
A small contingent of Dutch athletes will compete at the Iowa State Holiday Invitational Saturday in Ames.
Cornell Downs Central Women’s Wrestling Team
In its first dual of the season, the Central College women’s wrestling team fell 24-21 at Cornell College Friday night.
The two teams each were three wrestlers short of a complete lineup, resulting in 10 points off two forfeits for each side with a double forfeit at 103 pounds. Central got its two wins on the mat from Carolina Vargas at 124 pounds and Macy Litherland at 160 pounds. Vargas recorded a pin in 2:09 and Litherland needed exactly two minutes for her win by fall. The Dutch led by as many as seven points late in the dual but a pair of pins by the Rams to close out the dual gave them the edge.
Central will host the Central Duals on Friday, January 3 inside H.S. Kuyper Fieldhouse.