Central Falls in Road Men’s Tennis Match Friday

Starting the final weekend of the American Rivers Conference regular season, the Central College men’s tennis team lost 6-3 at Wartburg College Friday night.

Central fell behind after losing two of three doubles matches, meaning they needed four singles victories to win the match. The only doubles win for the Dutch came at No. 3 as Alejo Marcon and Ernest Alvarez Chedzoy won 8-2. Ayden Fletcher controlled the No. 1 singles match, taking a 6-4, 6-3 win. Marcon also earned a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win in his No. 3 singles match.

The Dutch have their final American Rivers Conference regular season match Saturday morning at 10 a.m. in Cedar Rapids at Coe College.

Dutch Track and Field Team Tackles Drake Relays

Six Central College track and field relay quartets and a pair of individuals dealt with difficult weather and corresponding delays at the Drake Relays Friday.

Competing in the top level of the collegiate 800-meter run, Noah Jorgenson was sixth in 1:50.60. Kale Purcell was sixth in the men’s triple jump, reaching 49 feet, 9.5 inches. Jrake Van Hemert, Noah Erickson, JD Elefson, and Kaleb Brand first teamed up to run the 4×400-meter relay in 3:18.15, finishing 13th, before taking seventh in the sprint medley relay in 3:30.16. Jackson Moats, Owen Tomko, Mason Farrington, and Brand finished their 4×200-meter relay race in 1:32.65 and finished fifth in their heat. The event was delayed due to weather after completing two of four heats and was not yet completed.

The Dutch women were 10th in the 4×400-meter relay as Lizzy Van Utrecht, Ava Parkins, Emily McMartin, and Abbi Roerdink finished in 3:51.51, which is two seconds faster than their previous best. Sabryn Egli, Van Utrecht, Abby Gruver, and Hadyn Miller were eighth in the women’s 1600 sprint medley relay (4:11.10), while Mary Gustason, Parkins, McMartin and Olivia Bohlen were 12th in the 4×200-meter relay.

Central will compete in three more events Saturday morning to close out the Drake Relays.

Central Track and Field Athletes Competitive at Kip Janvrin Open

Large fields with NCAA Division I athletes made up the competition for the Central College track and field teams at the Kip Janvrin Open Thursday and Friday.

There are no team scores at the Kip Janvrin Open as most teams are split sending athletes between there and the Drake Relays. Running the third-fastest men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase race in program history, Jack Brown was first out of 41 entries in a time of 9 minutes, 13.33 seconds. Abby Gruver was fourth in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 1:06.09. Central had a pair of top-five finishes in the men’s javelin throw, with Gavin Smith taking third with a toss of 151-6 and Jaxon Thompson finishing fourth at 149-2. Gracie Pierson was fifth in the women’s javelin throw at 106-2. Thompson had another top-five finish in the men’s pole vault after clearing 13-9.25. 

Women’s long jumpers Jasmyn Williams and Karlee Warnke both had huge improvements over their previous outdoors season-best marks, with Williams finishing second in 17-5.5 and Warnke taking fifth in 16-8.75. In the women’s 800-meter run, Alyssa Mayhew was eighth in 2:21.15 and Alivia Roerdink was ninth in 2:21.56. Allison Van Gorp was 10th in the women’s discus throw with a toss of 121-10.

Central has three remaining entries at the Drake Relays Saturday morning.