League Champ Central No. 7 in NCAA Men’s Track
August 8, 2011
Kurtis Brondyke '11 finished second in the decathlon, behind teammate Ethan Miller, in the NCAA Division III championships in Ohio this May.
A seventh-place national team finish was just one of many season highlights for Central’s powerhouse men’s track and field squad.
Coming off a second straight Iowa Conference indoor meet title, the Dutch claimed their third straight outdoor team crown and the program’s 13th in 21 years, racking up a conference record 250 points. Junior Ethan Miller was named the league’s field event performer of the year, junior Kyle Wood took MVP honors on the track and Joe Dunham was again named coach of the year.
It was the fourth league indoor/outdoor MVP award for Miller, who then joined senior teammate Kurtis Brondyke for a dominant one-two finish in the decathlon at the NCAA Division III championships in Delaware, Ohio. Miller eclipsed his own school record with 7,170 points, just ahead of Brondyke’s 7,109. Meanwhile, Miller also took third in the NCAA long jump (23 feet, 4.75 inches).
Miller, the national Division III field event athlete of the year in the indoor season, was again the regional outdoor honoree as well.
Central’s 4×100-meter relay team also gained all-America distinction, taking fifth at the NCAA meet in a season-best 41.35 seconds with the unit of junior Trevor Veach, freshman Mitch Wagoner, Wood and junior Allen Scovel.
Junior Tyler Crouse qualified in the NCAA discus while senior Matt Graber made it in the shot put, with Wood in the 400.