May
9, 2009
(release
courtesy of Larry Happel & Scott Kretzman, Central College
sports information)
PELLA,
IOWA . . . Wartburg College raced to its 10th consecutive
Iowa Conference women’s track and field crown while Central
College used its home-track advantage to claim its first men’s
league title since 2004 and its 11th in the past 19 years at
Ron and Joyce Schipper Stadium Saturday.
Wartburg,
a likely contender for the NCAA Division III top spot May 21-23
in Marietta, Ohio, rolled up 243 points. Central was runner-up
for the second straight year, with 138.5 points followed by
Luther College with 107 and Loras College with 100.
The
Knights snared eight individual titles. Faith Burt cruised
to victories in the 100 and 200-meters while also anchoring
the first-place 4x100-meter relay team. Skye Morrison
swept the long jump and triple jump while Anna Kraayenbrink,
victorious in the 10,000-meters Friday evening, came back to
take first in the 5,000-meters Saturday for the second straight
year.
Wartburg’s
Marcus Newsom was the league’s coach
of the year for the 10th time.
Simpson
College’s Lauren Bucklin was named the
league’s Most Valuable Performer. She took top honors
in the 100-meter hurdles and 400-meter hurdles while also running
on Simpson’s third-place 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay units.
Bucklin established a new league record in the 100-meter hurdles
Friday, finishing in 13.92 seconds in the preliminaries before
a 14.21-second effort in Saturday’s finals.
Central
racked up 198.5 points to claim victory in the men’s division
in coach Joe Dunham’s first season with
the Dutch. Dunham was named the league’s coach of the
year. Loras edged Wartburg for second place, 155-150.
Buena Vista University’s Eric Bertelsen
received Most Valuable Performer honors for the second straight
year. He was also the MVP at the league indoor meet earlier
this year. Bertelsen was a winner in the 100 and 200-meters
and the long jump while anchoring the Beavers’ first-place
4x100-meter relay team.
Central
won six events in securing its 12th conference team title. Matt
Patrick, Jordan Gegner and Alex
Miller each had a hand in two first-place efforts.
Patrick took the 400-meters, Gegner claimed the 400-meter hurdles
and Miller was first in the 800-meters. All three ran on Central’s
winning 4x400-meter relay team.
There
were no new league records in the men’s meet, although
Miller’s 1:52.57 effort in the 800 meters was only 0.03
off the conference mark.
Day
One Recap
Complete
Results
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