Kurtis Brondyke May 21, 2009

Brondyke, Miller among decathlon leaders

MARIETTA, OHIO—Central College’s Kurtis Brondyke (sophomore, Clinton) and Ethan Miller (freshman, Seymour) stand second and fifth, respectively, after the first day of the decathlon at the NCAA Division III Track and Field Championships Thursday.

Meanwhile in the heptathlon, Central’s Carissa Bentz (junior, Ute, Boyer Valley HS) is 14th and Jill Ziskovsky (sophomore, Dallas Center, Dallas Center-Grimes HS) is 16th after the first day.

Despite competing in 90-degree heat, Brondyke is running ahead of the pace he set in winning the Iowa Conference decathlon at Pella May 1-2. He had 3,740 points after the first day of the league meet but posted 3,771 Thursday. Miller, who was second in the league, had 3,701 points after the first day of the conference meet and recorded 3,668 points Thursday.

Linfield College (Ore.) junior Josh Lovell is the NCAA leader with 3,822 points, 51 points ahead of Brondyke. Obinna Nwanna of Case Western Reserve Univ. (Ohio) is third with 3,707. There were 17 athletes accepted into the NCAA field.

Brondyke and Miller each recorded a pair of career bests Thursday. Brondyke opened by finishing third in the 100 meters (11.29 seconds), was second in the long jump (22 feet, 7 inches), set a personal best in taking eighth in the shot put (38-11.5), was third in the high jump (6-5.5) and set a personal best in taking fifth in the 400 meters (50.39 seconds).

“Kurtis is hitting everything well,” coach Joe Dunham said. “He high jumped well and had his career best in the shot. We’re just hoping he can ride it out tomorrow. We’ve got some events that we’re not as strong in, but I know he’ll compete well.”

Miller was seventh in the 100 meters (11.38 seconds), fourth in the long jump (22-5.75), set a personal best in taking 15th in the shot put (36-2), was first in the high jump (6-8) and set a personal best in finishing 13th in the 400 meters (51.79 seconds).

“Ethan didn’t run a very good 100 and got really frustrated,” Dunham said. “That didn’t set a good tone for him and he didn’t long jump that well. But then he came back with a personal best in the shot and he high jumped very well. So I was really proud of the way he took a negative, turned it around and got back on track. “

The decathlon concludes Friday with the 110 meter hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1,500 meters.

Despite Thursday’s strong showings, the Central tandem is among the least experienced in the field. Brondyke is one of just two sophomores competing and Miller is the only freshman who qualified.

“We’ve had a lot of coaches comment on that,” Dunham said. “It’s certainly very exciting for the future.”

Central women ahead of pace--Bentz and Ziskovsky are both ahead of the pace they set in placing first and second, respectively, at the Iowa Conference heptathlon May 1-2 at Pella. Bentz had 2,540 points after the first day of the league heptathlon and racked up 2,589 Thursday. Ziskovsky, who scored 2,388 in the league meet’s first day, has 2,523.  Ashley Huston, a senior from Hardin-Simmons Univ. (Texas) is the NCAA first-day leader with 3,104 points, 84 ahead of Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) junior Kaelene Lundstrom and 564 in front of Bentz. There are 20 competitors in the field.

Bentz was 20th in the 100 meter hurdles (17.17 seconds) but then was ninth in the high jump (5-1), second in the shot put in a career-best 39-1 and 16th in the 200 meters (27.40 seconds).

Ziskovsky was 18th in the 100 meter hurdles (16.92 seconds), placed sixth in the high jump (5-2.25), 14th in the shot put in a career best 30-9.75 and 10th in the 200 meters (26.96 seconds).

“The first event is always hard because it’s not one of their strongest,” Dunham said. “But they really reacted well. They jumped great in the high jump, had personal bests in the shot put and really came around. Overall I was really pleased.”

Dunham was also impressed with his athletes’ efforts in the heat.

“There was not a cloud in the sky so the sun was really beating down,” he said. “There’s no shade around at all. It was taking its toll on everybody but I was pleased with the way we responded.”

The heptathlon concludes Friday with the long jump, javelin and 800 meters.

In Friday’s other action, senior Rachel Boeke (Cedar Rapids, Jefferson HS) will compete in the women’s discus at 12:30 p.m. (Iowa time) while freshman Tyler Crouse (Hedrick, Pekin HS) makes his NCAA debut in the men’s discus at 3:30 p.m.

Miller comes back after the decathlon to compete in the men’s high jump Saturday at 10:30 a.m. while Boeke completes her first NCAA trip Saturday with the women’s shot put at 1:30 p.m.