Sunday, May 16, 2010

MC TRACK DOMINANCE CONTINUES

MONMOUTH, Ill. – Monmouth College’s men’s and women’s track teams successfully defended their Midwest Conference titles, picking up the men’s 10th straight league crown and the women’s sixth.

Each team led after Day 1 of the two-day meet in Jacksonville and widened the gap on the rest of the field on the final day. Carroll was the runner up to Monmouth in both the men’s and women’s competitions. The Scots’ men posted 202 points to the Pioneers’ 123. The women won by a 248.5 to 127 margin.

Monmouth coach Roger Haynes swept the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year honors. He shared the men’s honor with Carroll’s Shawn Thielitz. The Scots’ Gloria Lehr and Amanda Streeter were named women’s field Performers of the Year along with Melissa Norville of Illinois College. Monmouth’s Tyler Hannam earned the men’s field Performer of the Year and teammate Luke Reschke was tabbed the men’s track Performer of the Year, sharing the honor with Illinois College’s D.J. Jackson and David Montgomery of Grinnell.

Reschke made the biggest splash on the men’s track with a 400-dash time that not only is the nation’s fastest, it also equaled the automatic qualifying time for Division I. After missing last season with an injury, the senior reclaimed the 400-meter dash title in convincing fashion. His fourth title in the event came in a automatic qualifying time of 46.75 – breaking his own school record by nearly a second. He added a second-place finish in the 200 where he ran a personal-best and first-time provisional qualifying 21.62 in the prelims. His 21.78 in the finals was just one one-hundredth behind Jackson of IC.

Lehr scored in all four of her events, winning two. The senior took top honors in the shot put and discus. Lehr’s provisional throw of 43’1-1/2” in the shot led a 1-2-3 Scots finish. Amanda Street was second and Allison Devor was third. Lehr also threw a provisional mark to win the discus. Her 140’4” toss was a personal-best. Devor placed third in the event.

Hannam won the men’s high jump for the second consecutive year. The junior cleared 6’9-1/2” to win by two inches. Nick Byom cleared 6’7-1/2” to place third on a judge’s decision and Sean Wells was fourth.

Streeter unseated defending champion Lehr in the hammer throw. Streeter heaved a personal-best and first-time provisional mark of 154’6” for the title. Lehr placed second and Devor took fourth with a career-best 140’5”.

Sprinter Jae Moore was successful in defending her 100-dash crown. The junior clocked a 12.81 to win by 25-hundreths. She also placed second in the 200.

Moore, Morgan Leffel, MacKinsey Marquith and Kaci Lierman sprinted their way to a win in the 4x100 relay. The foursome’s 49.83 was nearly a second faster than the runner up. Leffel and Lierman also gained valuable points in the 400 where they finished 2-3. Lierman, Leffel, Moore and Rachel Bowden clocked a second-place time of 4:04.60 in the 4x400 relay.

Whitney Didier picked up the women’s other first in the meet. Didier equaled her personal-best and provisional height of 11’7-3/4” to win the pole vault. She also took third in the 400 hurdles.

Besides Reschke’s win in the 400, Monmouth’s men picked up four other firsts – all in the field events. Four Monmouth Students were selected as track performers of the year.

WOMEN – TEAM RANKINGS
1) Monmouth College (IL) 248.5
2) Carroll University 127
3) St. Norbert College 117
4) Illinois College 79.5
5) Ripon College 61
6) Knox College 49
7) Beloit College 47
8) Grinnell College 32
9) Lawrence University 18

MEN – TEAM RANINGS
1) Monmouth College (IL) 202
2) Carroll University 123
3) Grinnell College 113
4) St. Norbert College 102
5) Ripon College 95
6) Illinois College 86
7) Beloit College 25
8) Knox College 21
9) Lawrence University 13

TRACK PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR

Women’s Field:
Melissa Norville (Illinois College)
Gloria Lehr (Monmouth College)
Amanda Streeter (Monmouth College)

Women’s Track:
Megan OGrady (Carroll University)
Lindsay Gruenke (Carroll University)
Jenny Scherer (St. Norbert College)
Emily Schudrowitz (St. Norbert College)

Men’s Track:
D.J. Jackson (Illinois College)
David Montgomery (Grinnell College)
Luke Reschke (Monmouth College)

Men’s Field:
Tyler Hannam (Monmouth College)

Men’s Coach of the Year:
Roger Haynes (Monmouth College}

Women’s Coach of the Year:
Roger Haynes (Monmouth Collge)
Shawn Thielitz (Carroll University

Sunday, May 9, 2010

SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT RESULTS

NCAA Division III Softball

Game 3 of 2010 Midwest Conference Championship Tournament (Lake Forest College)

Monmouth College 4, Ripon College 2
St. Norbert College 5, Monmouth College 0

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

INSIDE THE OSF

A Tale of Two Patients
By: Brittney Parker

Within the college student body, the OSF Clinic has a less than positive reputation. Is the bad rep of the clinic justified? This is a first hand evaluation by two students of one service provided by OSF: Surgery

Surgery is something no one ever predicts for themselves. One of the scariest things a person can hear is when a doctor tells him or her they must have surgery immediately before something worse happens. For college students who do not have primary doctors in Monmouth, many things begin to run through his or her mind. “The first thing I did was call my parents to see if I could come home to get surgery done there and be with my family,” says Kate Runge, who had her appendix removed in 2007. “I was a freshman and I had just moved into the college, I didn’t really know what to expect which scared me even more. All I knew was the bad things people had told me about the clinic, like misdiagnosing patients and lack of knowledge.” She went on to explain that this was her biggest fear. “As if surgery wasn’t bad enough I had to get it done at a place I was not comfortable with, that just added to it.”

I too was faced with these concerns when I was told I had to have surgery immediately. I was diagnosed with an umbilical hernia, and that if I didn’t get it taken care of, it would only get worse and cause my intestines to get pinched closed. If this was to happen, I would have to go in for emergency surgery, which according to the doctor would be a dangerous situation.

Runge checked into the emergency room at 4:30 in the morning and was taken to a room immediately after, despite common beliefs of waiting hours to be looked at. Although, this is where her experience began to frighten her. “After about an hour and what seemed like 50 tries later, I finally got an IV in my hand. That was after I had already passed out, because of the amount of pain I was in, while walking to the bathroom. Except the nurse made my roommate help me.” She explained that the doctor who was going to perform the surgery seemed knowledgeable and told her how the operation and recovery were going to go, which she said put her at ease.

I was first treated by a clinic doctor, who then set up an appointment for me to meet with the general surgeon. Although this first doctor seemed knowledgeable, she didn’t really answer any of my questions and still left me wondering. I was not really given any other options either, other than to go home. This left me with a less than positive outlook on the situation. A few days later, I met with the surgeon, Dr. Mukund Godbole. After talking with him, I felt comfortable that he knew what he was talking about and doing. He explained the history of how hernia surgeries used to be preformed as opposed to how they are done now to “ensure a faster recovery.” He asked about my lifestyle and how active I was and together we decided the best option for hernia repair, which he explained, “was a mesh piece which would make recovery faster and less painful than getting stitches.” I set up an appoint for surgery four days later, since it was “quickly getting worse and needed to be taken care of as soon as possible” according to Dr. Godbole.

I still had misgivings about getting surgery done at this hospital, so I had my Mom call around at home to see if there was a way I could get into a hospital at home. I thought it was strange that my doctor in Monmouth did not do an ultrasound or see how big the hernia was, although he had said when he was feeling around that it was as big as the tip of his thumb. No hospitals at home would be able to see me until the end of May, so I was forced to stick with OSF.

I had to go back the day after my consultation to get a blood test for a blood count. When I walked into the lab room, I was immediately placed into a room and the nurse followed in directly after me. I told my nurse about my fear of needles and blood, let alone getting my blood taken. I had explained that I had only gotten it done once before and almost fainted. She talked me through it while she was doing it. I had never had such a good experience with anything dealing with needles as that was. (Not to mention the chair was one of the most comfortable things I had ever sat in.)

The day of my surgery, I went into the Out Patient waiting room. I sat there for a minute before I was taken into the pre-operation room. The nurse had me read over a few sheets of paper dealing with the anesthesia, but explained that it was just for insurance purposes and unless I have an allergy I am unaware of, nothing bad would happen. I explained my fear of having an IV and that I have never had one before. She told me that they would not be able to give me laughing gas because they did not have a gas tank in the room I was in, but she reassured me that they would make it the most painless they possibly could and would make it a pleasurable experience. Instead of gas, I was given a shot in my hand that would numb my vain before they put the IV in. I though, a shot before a shot, I’m not so sure of that. The numbing shot involved little to no pain at all so when she put the IV in, there was no pain at all.

I was walked through everything from what my arm would feel like once the IV was in my body to why they gave me a hot blanket, and what would happen as they added drugs to my IV. The nurse administering the anesthesia talked with my parents and me to decide on the best solution for surgery, as well as the painkillers I would be admitted with during surgery to help reduce the pain immediately after surgery. My surgeon came out before I was pushed into the operation room, to meet with my parents and answer any questions they had that the nurses couldn’t answer. My parents were given lunch tickets and received a free lunch from the cafeteria in the hospital, which they said was not bad food at all.

When I was pushed into the operation room, I was greeted with a handful of nurses. They told me to move onto the operation table, which seemed extremely small. I talked with them for about five minutes while they put monitors on me and strapped my arms up to separate boards. Before I knew it, I was waking up and telling the nurses all about the dream I had. I was transferred back to my bed and was wheeled away.

The doctor had gone to the waiting room and explained to my parents how the surgery went and what he did. He explained that when he blew up my stomach with air, he saw that the hernia was a bit smaller than he had originally thought and he could use stitches as opposed to the mesh piece. He explained that recovery would not be as quick, but that the risk of it opening up again is not likely.

My parents returned to my room, and within 40 minutes I was released. I had to use the bathroom and walk, once I did that the nurse told me I could leave whenever I wanted. The nurses called in my prescriptions and my parents were able to pick them up as soon as we left the hospital.

For never having a surgery before, I had one of the most surprisingly comfortable experiences. I would recommend OSF hospital to anyone. The nurses were caring and took all of my concerns into consideration. They made sure I was comfortable at all times and explained in detail everything that would happen. My surgeon was extremely knowledgeable and put everything at ease. He was personable and explained the entire surgery beforehand, as well as telling me about the discomfort I would feel after surgery.

After being released, Runge’s incision became infected and she returned to the doctor to get it looked at. He told her “you will be bikini ready in no time” but “my scar is probably around three inches and definitely looks like I got knifed in an alley way. It has pulls in the line and looks terrible. It stills hurts sometimes, so I’m guessing it wasn't done properly?” She also added, “I went back and found out my doctor "retired" soon after I had my surgery, a little fishy if you ask me.”

When Runge looks back on the entire experience, as a whole, “I feel like there are some nurses that didn’t seem to know how to help me. But overall the hospital seemed more knowledgeable, as a whole, despite the doctor I had. Perhaps there are just certain individuals that are not properly trained, but I wouldn’t hold it against the hospital portion.” If she was to give advice to anyone needing a surgery and who are not able to go home, she says “I would call around and ask how the operation and recovery are for the surgery you’re going to have, then compare that to what the doctor tells you. I feel like that would be a quick and easy test to see if he or she is trustworthy. I wish I would have done that.”

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

SLOW GOING FOR NEW ROSEVILLE SCHOOL

by Michelle Nutting

(ROSEVILLE) Residents of Roseville and surrounding communities have high hopes for the new Roseville Community Christian School. But with a low turn out to last Thursday night’s meeting, one member of the Feasibility Committee, Paul Peterson, expressed some disappointment “The turnout was low on Thursday and that’s surprising because the first meeting a lot of people showed up.” A low attendance could indicate signs of low enrollment.

Peterson said, “We had 9 sign up last Thursday, I’m praying for 50 but I’m not sure what we’ll get, probably around 20.” Surveys were mailed out to Roseville residents handed out at the meeting. These surveys measure demographic information about each family interested in having its children attend the new school. The committee will meet this Friday to review surveys and determine how many students are expected to attend the school in August.

Monday, May 3, 2010

ZEBESTOCK RETURNS

(MONMOUTH) Students at Monmouth College came together on Saturday night for Zeta Beta Tau's annual music festival Zebestock. Over fifteen acts performed throughout the evening to help raise money for ZBT's national philanthropy Children's Miracle Network.

Zebestock is ZBT's biggest annual fundraiser. All students are welcomed and encouraged to perform in the event, and since Monmouth's chapter of ZBT is packed full of musicians, there were no shortage of performances throughout the evening.

President of the fraternity John Gryzwa said "I think it's cool that we can come together and raise money by playing music, and doing something we all love to do."
Kassi Heald-Schmelzer, a senior at Monmouth, said that "We all look forward to Zebestock every year, so it's good to know that it's going to a good cause."

Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization that raises funds for more than 170 children’s hospitals. Donations from Zebestock helo Children’s Miracle Network fund medical care, research and education that saves and improves the lives of 17 million children each year. For more information on the Children's Miracle Network, go to http://www.childrensmiraclenetwork.org/Index.aspx

Sunday, May 2, 2010

LATE SPORTS SCORES

TRACK

MONMOUTH, Ill. – The Monmouth College track team is right where coach Roger Haynes wants them to be after winning the men’s and women’s team titles at Saturday’s Fighting Scots Invitational.

Monmouth’s women won by more than 15 points and the men were first by just over eight points in the 12-team field.


SOFTBALL
May 2, 2010

Game 1
Monmouth 5, Cornell 4

Game 2
Monmouth 10 (13-20), Cornell 8