Cornell men climb to No. 6 in Central Region

Following a strong performance at the Iowa Conference Indoor Championships, Cornell College's men's track and field team vaulted to No. 6 in the USTFCCA NCAA Division III Central Region Poll.

Head coach Lonnie Speidel's Rams climbed four spots to earn the program's highest regional ranking. They trail only No. 2 Central and No. 3 Wartburg from the IIAC. Loras is No. 10.

Cornell enjoyed its best conference meet as a member of the IIAC last weekend in Pella. The Rams placed fifth in the men's team race with 67.3 points, only eight points out of third.

The Rams earned all-conference status in six events, led by three-time champion Kirkwood Donavin, who was named the IIAC Men's Most Valuable Track Performer. Donavin set an IIAC-indoor meet record in winning the mile and anchored the 4x800 and distance medley relays to victories.

The 4x800 relay (Adam Rooyakkers, Chris Stadler, Scott Riedel, Donavin) repeated as IIAC champions. The distance medley foursome (Rooyakkers, Reed Skoog, Stadler, Donavin) raced to a new school record.

Cornell has a couple athletes competing in last-chance meets this weekend - Friday at Whitewater, Wis., and Saturday at Ames - leading to the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships March 11-12 in Bexley, Ohio.