Dutch crown four track and field champions at Wartburg

Central competes in toughest meet of young season

by Joseph Flaherty

Waverly, IA (02/03/2025) — Four individual champions led the way for the Central College track and field program at the Wartburg Indoor Select Saturday afternoon.

The 10-team meet hosted by Wartburg College featured the deepest competition yet for the Dutch with seven Division III programs in attendance.

"This was our first elite Division III meet and I think we did some good things today," coach Brandon Sturman said. "There's obviously things we need to work on, but hopefully we can learn and get better as we approach the conference championships."

Kale Purcell (senior, Holton, Kan.) improved his career-best performance in the triple jump, reaching a mark of 48 feet, 3.25 inches to win the meet. He's now No. 4 nationally.

"It's nice to see him continue to try and PR every week and continue to build on what he did at the start of the season," Sturman said. "He continues to get better each week and hopefully we can keep it going."

In the men's mile, Jack Brown (sophomore, Norwalk) took home the title in a time of 4 minutes, 13.25 seconds. He moved up to No. 22 in the country.

"Jack's a talented runner," Sturman said. "He's doing a great job of sticking to the process and believing in the training. We're really excited about where he's at and he knows he can go faster later in the year."

Freshman weight thrower Alex Zarlatanes (Taylor Ridge, Ill., Rockridge HS) won with the best throw of his young career at 49-4.5.

"I'm really excited about the progress he is making," Sturman said. "I can't wait to see where he'll be in a month."

The lone individual champion for the Dutch women was women's pole vaulter Amber Vroman (senior, Seneca, Ill.), who won her third title in four competitions this year. She cleared 10-11.75.

"It's exciting to see her be more consistent," Sturman said. "She would have loved to jump higher but she's out there competing and winning the meet, which is always a good thing."

Alivia Roerdink (sophomore, Tiffin, Ohio, Hopewell-Loudon HS) finished third in the women's 800 meters in a time of 2:19.97,

"She really ran with a lot of confidence," Sturman said "She was in a fast heat and wasn't afraid to stay up with the fast pace. I'm excited for her and hopeful we can build off it."

Central goes back to Waverly next week for the Friday Knight Lights meet, starting at 3:30 p.m.

Top-eight finishes - women

60-meter dash - 8. Emily McMartin, 8.03

200 meters - 2. Emily McMartin 26.01; 3. Ava Parkins 26.45; 5. Mary Gustason, 26.61

400 meters - 3. Lizzy Van Utrecht, 1:01.01

800 meters - 3. Alivia Roerdink, 2:19.97; 8. Riley Packer, 2:26.15

3000 meters - 2. Addison Parrott, 9:59.59; 3. Peyton Steffen, 10:04.02

4x400 relay - 2. Central A, 4:01.16; 7. Central B, 4:13.17

Pole vault - 1. Amber Vroman, 10-11.75; 5. Leah Howard, 10-00; Kylie Meyer, 9-02.5

Shot put - 8. Kylie Krumm, 35-1.75

Amber

Vroman