Four of the seven Central College track and field athletes qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field championships this weekend are making return trips to the national stage.
Five individuals and one relay team will represent the Dutch program at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Alabama this weekend. Due to the track at the Birmingham CrossPlex being banked, all flat track times from Central’s season have been converted faster for qualification purposes.
Making his fourth appearance at the national meet, high jumper Sam Beatty (senior, Mount Pleasant) has his sights set on a national title. He finished eighth at the 2022 indoor meet and tied for third at the 2022 outdoor meet. He also was 13th in 2021 outdoors. His seed mark of 6 feet, 10.25 inches from February 11 at Grinnell is third best in the field and is his all-time best mark indoors or outdoors.
The women’s distance medley relay squad of Megan Johnson (junior, Parkersburg, Aplington-Parkersburg HS), Abbi Roerdink (junior, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS), Peyton Steffen (freshman, Marion) and Caroline McMartin (junior Pella) qualified by completing the race in 11 minutes, 43.32 seconds Friday night at the Wartburg Final Qualifier, putting them No. 10 on the list of 12 entries. Johnson, Roerdink and Steffen are making their national meet debuts.
McMartin also enters as the No. 15 seed in the 3,000-meter run after running a 9:50.39 at the Wartburg Final Qualifier on Saturday. She’s making her indoor national debut but she made the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2022 outdoor national meet and is coming off an All-American cross country season in the fall.
Abby Marr (senior, Riceville) got the weight throw mark (57-0) she needed to earn a return trip to the national meet on February 18 at the Liz Wuertz Invitational at Wartburg. She made the national finals in the weight throw last year, taking ninth. She enters as the No. 15 seed and is one of seven competitors from the American Rivers Conference in the field
Lucas Heitz (senior, Adel, ADM HS) finished 16th in the heptathlon at the 2022 indoor national meet and also was 12th in the decathlon at the outdoor national meet. This year’s qualifying mark of 4,787 points was from the Doane Happy Holidays Multi in December and he hasn’t attempted a heptathlon since January 27. He’s the No. 15 seed for this weekend.
Adam Sylvia (senior, Rochester, Mass., Old Rochester HS) earned All-Americans honors at the 2022 indoor national meet on the eighth-place distance medley relay squad. He takes to the national stage as an individual this year in the mile after a career-best 4:10.36 Saturday at the Wartburg Final Qualifier put him in the field. After some scratches ahead of him, he enters with the No. 16 time.
Central College NCAA Championships schedule of events
Friday, March 10 (times are CST)
10 a.m. – men’s heptathlon (60-meter dash)
10:40 a.m. – men’s heptathlon (long jump)
12:30 p.m. – men’s heptathlon (shot put)
2:35 p.m. – men’s mile (prelims)
3 p.m. – women’s weight throw
3 p.m. – men’s heptathlon (high jump)
6:25 p.m. – women’s distance medley relay
Saturday, March 11
10 a.m. – men’s heptathlon (60-meter hurdles)
10:50 a.m. – men’s heptathlon (pole vault)
2 p.m. – men’s heptathlon (1000 meters)
3 p.m. – men’s mile (finals)
3:45 p.m. – men’s high jump
4:55 p.m. – women’s 3,000-meter run