Pella, IA- Central College has collected their 8th indoor national title for the men’s track and field program and it comes from Mount Pleasant native, senior Sam Beatty. It’s the Dutch’s third high jump title in school history.
At the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championship, Beatty was tied with Samuel Hetrick of Penn State University as they both cleared 6 feet 9 inches. Both competitors attempted 6 feet 10.25 inches, but both missed all three of their attempts. Beatty won the tiebreaker as Hetrick had one more miss at lower bars than Beatty.
Coach Brandon Sturman said, “Once it got down to two guys, I think it took some pressure off and it ended up working out for him.”
The Dutch now tout 37 individual national titles across all sports.