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