D3football.com: Notables

Kurtis Brondyke was an All-Region punter and is the IIAC high jump champion.

Photo by Ryan Coleman, D3sports.com

Dutch punter doubles pleasure

Kurtis Brondyke is following up his standout football season at Central with a stellar track season as well. The freshman, who was a D3football.com second-team All-Region punter, won the high jump competition at the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, with a best of 6 feet, 6-1/4 inches, and was second in the long jump, at 23 feet, 2-3/4 inches.

He has previously provisionally qualified for the national meet (May 22-24 at Oshkosh, Wis.) in both events.

Brondyke made a name for himself earlier in the season, when he was the IIAC's player of the week (not special teams player) in football after he landed three of his seven punts inside the 5-yard line in a 17-14 win against Loras, including two fourth-quarter punts that pinned the Duhawks at the 1-yard line.

He's not the only Dutch football player lighting up the track for coach Kevin Sanger, himself a former Central star on the gridiron. Guy Dierikx won the conference 400-meter title for the third straight year in 47.92 seconds, a season-best effort and well under the NCAA provisional-qualifying mark. Dierikx, a third-team All-American cornerback, is just the fourth Central athlete to win three consecutive men’s league titles in the same event. Dierikx also anchored Central’s first-place 4x400-meter relay team.

Central finished second to Wartburg at the meet.

Permalink | May 10, 2008