Luke Bolander May 5, 2009

Central hosts conference meet

PELLA—Central College is among those schools in the hunt for an Iowa Conference title when the league track and field championships come to Pella Friday and Saturday.

The meet officially began last weekend with the conference heptathlon and decathlon, which were both swept by the Dutch, getting one-two finishes in both the women’s and men’s competition.

The rest of the meet begins Friday at Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium in the A.N. Kuyper Athletics Complex. Field events start at 1 p.m. Friday with running events starting at 4 p.m. Saturday’s field events start at 10 a.m. with running events at 1 p.m.

Results will be posted after each event along with the meet schedule, records and other information on Central's meet Web site. The Dutch are looking forward to running on their home track.

“Our athletes are extremely excited about competing at home,” first-year coach Joe Dunham said.  

Second in 2008—In the 2008 league meet at Waverly, Central placed second behind Wartburg in both the men’s and women’s divisions.The Dutch have placed in the league’s top three in six of the past seven seasons.

Women in fight for second again--While Wartburg  is expected to run away with the women’s title, Central looks to contend for runner-up honors along with Simpson College, Luther College and Loras College.

“The biggest thing about our team is we’ve really improved since the indoor season,” Dunham said. “We met with the team (Monday) night and one thing I said is that each of them has gotten better. Some teams plateau but we’re continually getting better, week after week.

“I think we’re just hitting our stride. It’s a long season, but our athletes are still really excited about track and field.”

Men aiming for the top—The men’s meet appears to be wide open as the Dutch bid for their first league crown since 2004. Central has won 10 league titles since 1990, placing first or second in 16 of the past 18 seasons.

Wartburg, Loras and possibly Simpson are contenders for this year’s title as well, Dunham said.

“If we can take care of business where we’re supposed to, we’ll be competing for the top spot,” Dunham said. “But there will be a lot of people gunning for us.

“It’s going to be a great, great meet. It will be exciting and it could come down to the last event.

“We’ve got to come ready to compete. I told the athletes, there’s only one thing we can control and that’s ourselves. We have to be mentally ready.”

Returning talent--The Dutch return league champions in two men’s events. Kurtis Brondyke (sophomore, Clinton) won the high jump (6 feet, 6.25 inches) while Matt Graber (sophomore, Newton) claimed the shot put (48-6.75). Brondyke was also second in the long jump and fifth in the triple jump. Graber was fifth in the hammer throw. Central’s men also return Alex Miller (junior, Adel, Van Meter HS) who was second in the 800 meters and Teddy Clark (senior, Montgomery, Ill., Oswego HS), who was second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

Central has one women’s champ back. Jill Ziskovsky (sophomore, Dallas Center, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) won the long jump (17-1.25). Ziskovsky, Emily Teas (sophomore, Indianola) and Rachelle Tipton (junior, Newton) return from the first-place 4x400-meter relay team (3:55.57) as well. Teas and Ziskovsky also finished second in the 4x100-meter relay while Ziskovsky was fourth in the 400-meter hurdles. Also back is Jess Clark (senior, Port Byron, Ill., Riverdale HS), who was second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Ashley L. Feldman (junior, Alleman, North Polk HS), who placed second in the pole vault.

Early lead—Central has an early lead in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Both Dutch squads have 18 points. Brondyke and Ethan Miller (freshman, Seymour) finished first and second, respectively, in the decathlon. Brondyke scored 6,491 points with Miller at 6,444. Carissa Bentz (junior, Ute, Boyer Valley HS) and Ziskovsky topped the heptathlon field. Bentz racked up 4,419 points with Ziskovsky at 4,351. All four athletes topped the NCAA Division III meet provisional qualifying standard.

Loading up—Many of the most important decisions will be made before the meet begins as Dunham and his staff determine which athletes to put in each event. Each school can enter no more than four athletes in each event but there is no limit on how many events an athlete can compete in. Dunham said some Dutch athletes will be entered in several events.

“This is an important meet and we want to get the points where we have them,” he said. “We have to be smart about it. There will be some difficult decisions.”