Tyler Crouse May 18, 2009

Dutch send three to national meet

PELLA—Three men and three women will be representing Central College at the NCAA Division III track and field championships beginning Thursday at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.  

Four of Central’s entrants will compete in multi-events, including sophomore Kurtis Brondyke (Clinton) and freshman Ethan Miller (Seymour) in the decathlon as well as junior Carissa Bentz (Ute, Boyer Valley HS) and sophomore Jill Ziskovsky (Dallas Center, Dallas Center-Grimes) in the heptathlon. Miller also qualified for the meet in the high jump.

They will be joined by throwers Rachel Boeke (senior, Cedar Rapids, Thomas Jefferson HS), who qualified in the shot put and discus, and Tyler Crouse (Hedrick, Pekin HS) who made the field in the discus.

“The national championships are always exciting,” said head coach Joe Dunham. “And to have a pretty large group of athletes going is just tremendous. I think the goal at this point always has to be to duplicate what you did to get there, and if you can do that you’re going to be in pretty good shape to earn all-American honors.”

Central has made a name for itself on the national scene in the multi-events in recent years. Since 1992 Central has sent seven athletes to the Division III decathlon and earned all-American honors 10 times, and since 2000 10 Dutch athletes have competed at the Division III heptathlon and earned all-American honors nine times.

“We’ve just put our best athletes in the multi-events,” said Dunham. “And they’ve shown that they really are among some of the best athletes in the nation.”

Brondyke’s best decathlon performance came at the conference decathlon May 1-2 where he took first place with 6,491 points, the 10th-best score in Division III. He was an NCAA all-American outdoors in 2008, finishing fourth in the high jump, and indoors in February with a sixth-place finish in the pentathlon.

Miller was the runner-up in the conference decathlon with 6,444 points, ranking him 12th in Division III. Miller won the high jump April 4 at the Central Invitational (6 feet, 8.25 inches), which ranks 18th. He also earned all-American honors in February at the indoor national championships, finishing eighth in the pentathlon.

“Kurtis and Ethan both have experience at the national meet,” said Dunham. “And that experience is just so important. I think it will help both of them to have already been there and hopefully have some of those nerves worked out.”

Bentz punched her ticket to Marietta, Ohio by winning the conference heptathlon championship with 4,419 points, the 10th-highest total heading into Thursday.

Ziskovsky placed second in the conference in the heptathlon but bettered her score at the Central Last Chance Open May 12-13 where she overcame sloppy conditions to score 4,389 points, the 14th-best total. In 2008 she earned all-American honors indoors as part of the Central 4 x 400 meter relay squad that placed eighth.

“They’re gamers,” Dunham said of Bentz and Ziskovsky. “I know they’ll always come ready to compete.”

Boeke uncorked both of her qualifying throws at the conference meet May 9 on her way to winning the shot and discus. She ranks 13th in the shot put (43-11.75) and fourth in the discus (152-2). This will be Boeke’s first trip to the national championship meet after previously reaching the provisional qualifying mark three times in the shot put (twice outdoors, once indoors) and once in the discus.

"Rachel has been so close in the past and it’s great for her to have the opportunity to compete in both events this year,” Dunham said. “She’s excited, we’re all excited and she’s really relishing this chance.”

Crouse won the conference discus title May 9 (166-1) and holds the seventh-best throw in Division III.

“Tyler has taken advantage of his opportunities and proved he belongs,” Dunham said. “I don’t really worry about him about being prepared to go out and do his best because I know he’ll figure it out.”

Brondyke and Miller will be the first Dutch in action with the decathlon starting at noon Thursday. At 1 p.m. Thursday Bentz and Ziskovsky will begin competition in the heptathlon. On Friday Boeke and Crouse will be in action as the women’s and men’s discus starts at 1:30 and 4:30 p.m., respectively. Miller competes again Saturday at 11:30 a.m. in the men’s high jump, and Boeke will be in the women’s shot put at 2:30 p.m.