Central College’s track and field teams opened the outdoor season this past weekend with solid performances at the Augustana Viking Olympics in Rock Island, Illinois. The men’s squad finished in third place with 132.5 points, while the Central women finished sixth in the team standings with 80 points.

The Dutch men had two individual champions on the day, as Matt Graber set a new school record with a throw of 53 feet 11.25 inches in the shot put. Graber’s toss also qualified as an NCAA provisional mark. The Central men’s team also got a first-place performance out of senior Alex Miller, who won the 800-meter run with a time of 1 minute 57.6 seconds.

On the women’s side, Central’s 4×200 meter relay team of Jill Ziskovsky, Felicia Coleman, Emily Teas and Sam Retz claimed gold, finishing in a time of 1:45.21.

Both track and field teams are at home in Pella this coming weekend, as the Dutch women and men will host the Central Invitational, which begins on Friday.

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