Thirteen Central College athletes have qualified in 12 events for the NCAA Division III outdoor track and field championships at Claremont, California.  The meet will be staged today through Saturday at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The field was announced Sunday afternoon.

Seven veterans return to the national meet on the men’s side for the Dutch, who finished seventh last year. Central, which recently captured its fourth straight Iowa Conference title, has placed in the top 10 six times, including a program-best third-place finish in 2000.  

Central’s women head into the national meet after a stunning second-place finish at the conference meet. The Dutch scored in 13 events to snag their seventh consecutive top-three finish and first runner-up finish since 2009.  The Central women placed 17th last year, its highest finish since taking 14th in 2004. The program has nine top-25 national team finishes.