WAVERLY, Iowa - Nineteen from the Iowa Conference earned their way to the podium over the three day NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Wartburg and in the process will forever be called All-American. The Central men were the highest finishing IIAC team with an outstanding sixth place performance highlighted by second place finishes by
Cole Decker and
Logan Mulford. The Wartburg women finished 14th with
Kailey Kladivo leading the way with a fourth place.
UW-La Crosse men repeated as team champions with 41 points, winning their Division III best 14th team title. The Illinois Wesleyan women won their third team title with 42 points, claiming a one point victory over Baldwin-Wallace.
THURSDAY RECAP:
Four from the IIAC earned All-American status on the opening day while numerous other advanced to the finals. Central's
Decker made a big leap in the 10,000m run finishing second with a time of 30:49.33 after an eighth place performance in 2015.
Elizabeth Brandenburg of Loras finished as runner-up in the women's pole vault setting an new Iowa Conference record by clearing 3.95m (12' 11.5"). Coe's
Melissa Alger earned her second All-American honor with a sixth place performance in the women's discus by throwing 45.10m (147' 11.75"). Also earning All-American honors in the men's discus was Dubuque's
Alex Link who finished seventh in his first national championships appearance with a top throw of 52.06m (170' 10.0")
The opening day also meant numerous prelims in which competitors essentially locked up All-American honors by advancing to the finals. Loras'
Bree Powers ran a season best 24.68 in the women's 200m dash to claim the eighth and final spot in the finals. Defending 1,500m run champion
Tricia Serres of Luther also advanced to the finals on Thursday with a seventh place finish of 4:34.40
, making her a four-time All-American in the event. The 0Central and Wartburg women's 4x100m relay and 4x400m relay teams also earned a place in the finals with top-eight finishes on the opening day.
FRIDAY RECAP;
Day Two brought three more All-American honors in field events for the conference with the top performance coming from Central's
Mulford. The Dutch junior tied for the men's high jump title but lost the tie-breaker because of more misses in the competition. Mulford cleared 2.10m (6' 10.75") to earn runner-up honors in his first outdoor championships appearance. Dubuque's
Tanasha Atwater improved on her 20th place performance in the 2015 shot put with a second throw of 14.50m (47'7.0) to earn third place in 2016. Wartburg's
Kladivo was one of four to clear 1.73m (5' 8.0") in the women's high jump. Kladivo and three other failed to clear 1.76m with the Knight senior taking fourth place based on misses.
Four Iowa Conference performers advanced to their respective finals on Saturday with Central's
Dan Roemerman and Simpson's
Dylan Kalinay each making the finals of the men's 110m hurdles. Roemerman qualified fourth at 14.28 while Kalinay earned a spot in the finals with a 14.49
. Wartburg's
Erica Dynes ran a 12.01 in the women's 100m dash to qualify in the sixth position.
Zach Frey of Loras also clinched a finals appearance with a seventh place finish in the 800m prelims. Making his third and final championships appearance, Frey ran a 1:50.91.
The multi's also finished on Friday as a trio of IIAC competitors proved their all-around talents.
Isaac Frazier of Simpson finished 11th in the decathlon with 6,352 points. Frazier's highest scoring event was the 110m hurdles were he scored 811 points. The Wartburg duo of
Courtney Sowle and
Jaclyn Stoakes competed in the heptathlon with Sowle finishing 10th and Stoakes taking 17th. Sowle scored her highest point total in the 100m hurdles with 831 points. Stoakes highest scoring event was also the 100m hurdles with 740 points.
SATURDAY RECAP:
Day Three meant finals and more All-American honors for the competitors. Central's Roemerman was the day's top finisher as he took third in the men's 110m hurdles with a time of 14.19. Simpson's Kalinay finished eighth at 14.70 in the same event. A day after qualifying seventh, Loras' Frey took fourth with a 1.51.80 in the finals. The 5,000m run would see a pair of IIAC student-athletes take seventh with Central's Decker running a 14:42.29 in the men's race. Loras freshman
Audrey Miller took seventh in the women's race, running a 17:05.30. Wartburg's Dynes took seventh in the women's 100m dash at 12.39 seconds in the finals. Loras' Powers also took seventh with a 25.23 in the women's 200m dash. Luther's Serres was eighth in the women's 1,500m run at 4:34.71 in her final collegiate race.
Wartburg relays scored eight points on Saturday with the women's 4x100m relay finishing fourth and the 4x400m relay taking sixth. The 4x1 team of
Erica Dynes,
Tessa Helmle,
Laura Stenzel, and
Teylor Jones ran a season best time of 46.61 to earn All-American honors for the 12th straight year. The 4x4 relay team of
Taylor Officer,
Elizabeth Duehr,
Kaitlyn Muhlenbruch, and
Dailen Folkedahl took sixth with a time of 3:46.92. Central's 4x100m relay team of Abi Davis, Ashlee Downs, Monica Ruiz, and Hope Heitman finished in seventh with a time of 47.38 seconds. The Dutch 4x400m relay team of Downs, Kate Patton, Heitman, and Davis also took seventh with a time of 3:48.94 to earn All-American honors.
TEAM POINT TOTALS:
Men: Central - 24 points (6th place); Loras - 5 points (53rd place); Dubuuqe - 2 points (71st place); Simpson - 1 point (78th place).
Women: Wartburg - 15 points (14th place); Loras - 12 points (22nd place); Dubuque - 6 points (44th place); Central - 4 points (58th place); Coe - 3 points (68th place); Luther - 1 point (79th place).
