EXTREME MAKEOVER, FOOTBALL STYLE

Many of today’s popular TV shows feature homeowners’ remodeling projects, or an entirely new construction from the rubble of a not-up-to-par home.

Monmouth College is getting in on the act, and by the fall of 2009, the Fighting Scots outdoor stadium for football and track and field will have an entirely new look.

Construction began this week on the first of two phases of renovation of the Fighting Scots’ home field. Phase one, which will involve construction of new seating and a new press box, will be completed this fall prior to the Scots’ first home game against Lawrence University on Sept. 13.

The second phase of the project will be completed during the spring and summer of 2009. A synthetic turf field will be installed and lights will be added for evening events and intramural sports.

Walter S. Huff Jr. of Atlanta, Ga., an emeritus trustee of Monmouth College who graduated in 1956, has provided the naming gift for the project in memory of his late wife, April Zorn Huff, Monmouth College Class of 1959. Huff has contributed to major projects at his alma mater in the past, most notably the Huff Athletic Center, which was completed in 2003.

"April was very fond of Monmouth College football," said Huff. "That fondness goes back to her days as a student, when she participated in the Pep Club and school band. She enjoyed going to football games, whether it be high school, college or professional games. April’s family will be thrilled to have her alma mater’s stadium named in her memory."

Other donors are stepping forward to support the stadium renovation. Monmouth College will celebrate the project’s completion by holding a dedication ceremony for April Zorn Memorial Stadium at the start of the 2009 football season.

The new synthetic turf field will remain known as Bobby Woll Memorial Field.

"The stadium project continues the improvement and transformation of the Monmouth College campus," said president Mauri Ditzler. "Our intercollegiate football and track and field programs and our intramural sports will all benefit greatly."

In the first phase, the field’s predominantly metal bleachers and wooden press box will be replaced by attractive concrete and brick structures. The enclosed press box, which will remain on the east side of the field, will be 120 feet long, spanning the distance between the two 30-yard lines.

The bleachers will extend farther on both sides and, beyond them, the hillside will be terraced into seven or eight levels.

"Fans in those areas will either be able to sit on the retaining wall that separates each terrace, or they’ll be able to put their lawn chairs on the flat areas, which will be about six feet deep," said Don Gladfelter, MC’s vice president for finance and business.

Other new seating will include 144 red fold-down seats in the top three rows beneath the press box.

"We haven’t decided exactly how we will use those, but they might be available for season ticket holders or for parents on Family Weekend," said Gladfelter.

On the west side, permanent seating will replace the moveable bleachers that have been used for many years.

"Our goal is to become the most hospitable venue in the Midwest Conference for visiting teams and their fans," said President Ditzler. "The upgrades on the west side of the field will contribute to that goal."

All told, the seating renovations will expand the stadium’s capacity from 1,400 to 2,600.

Atop the "home" bleachers will be a first-class press box. Gladfelter called it a "huge improvement," with upgrades including three separate booths for broadcast media and rooms for home and visiting coaches and special guests of the college, in addition to the normal space reserved for game day personnel and print media reporters.

"We are also going to add sophisticated camera equipment, including a camera on the west side of the field that can be operated by remote control," said Gladfelter. That type of upgrade is necessary, Gladfelter explained, as the college is now required by the Midwest Conference to webcast all of its home football games, among other sports. "We’ll now have the potential for three different camera angles during a broadcast."

In 2009, broadcasts will show the Scots and their opponents playing on synthetic turf, making Monmouth the fifth of 10 schools in the conference to switch to that type of playing surface. Both the lights and the synthetic turf will be of great benefit to the college’s growing intramural program as well, alleviating space concerns and allowing outdoor recreation and other events, such as marching band practice, to continue into the evening hours.

The Fighting Scots have been playing at their current location since the 1980 season, when a field that was constructed in 1968 was expanded north to East Euclid Ave. The original football field, built in 1923, was located just south of the current facility.

Metzger-Johnson Architects, Inc., of Galesburg is in charge of the stadium’s design. Russell Construction of Bettendorf, Iowa, is the general contractor.

LET’S HOPE HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF…WITH A LITTLE IMPROVEMENT

If recent history means anything, the track team could be bringing back a lot of hardware from this week’s NCAA Division III men’s and women’s outdoor track and field championships.

The Scots, whose men placed third at last year’s outdoor national meet and second at the indoor meet this year, will have 10 men and women competing in 13 events at University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. This year marks the Scots’ 25th straight year of qualifying athletes for the national meet.

"I think our tradition of quality athletes and competing at the national meet carries over from year to year," said coach Roger Haynes, also in his 25th year. "Our men were a little disappointed we didn’t qualify the 4x4 relay. We’ll be missing the team atmosphere a relay provides, but I think we can build on what we’ve accomplished the last couple of years and everyone will be ready to go."

The Scots are loaded with experience at the outdoor meet. Senior pole vaulters Peter Sprecher (Canton, Ill./Canton), Jonny Henkins (Kewanee, Ill./Kewanee) and Jessica White (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg), senior throwers Zach Wilson (Lacon, Ill./Midland) and Jenny Babos (Leland, Ill./Somonauk); and the junior duo of 400-meter specialist Luke Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) and 100-meter hurdler Shannon Turczyn (Peru, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) are all making their third trip to the outdoor nationals.

The busiest of the group will be Babos, who will compete in three field events – discus, shot put and hammer throw. She exploded onto the field in the hammer, qualifying just days prior to the field selection.

"Jenny is a talented thrower," praised Haynes. "She’s very strong when she puts technical things together and that’s what happened last week in the hammer."

Babos threw her first provisional-qualifying mark in the hammer with a school-record toss of 152’5 at last Wednesday’s meet at Central College in Pella, Iowa. Two days later, she broke the record again and improved her national standing with a throw of 164’4 in the final meet of the regular season at Augustana College. She is ranked 16th nationally in the hammer throw, 12th in the discus and 19th in the shot put.

Joining Babos in the discus will be the "very consistent" Tanesha Hughes (Peoria, Ill./Woodruff), a junior. Her automatic-qualifying mark of 156’0 ranks her fourth nationally, just under five feet behind the leader.

"I feel good about her chances," said Haynes of the two-time national qualifier. "She’s thrown well for a number of weeks. It will come down to getting a good, solid throw early and then working out from there."

White enters the meet with the nation’s fourth-best height in the women’s pole vault of 12’6-1/4, which she has cleared twice this season. Haynes reports the senior has had some "good attempts" at 13’0 which would put her within one inch of the leader entering the meet.

Perhaps the Scots’ best chance for hardware comes in the men’s pole vault, where Sprecher is the defending outdoor national champion and Henkins claimed the 2008 indoor crown. Sprecher cleared the nation’s top height of 17’4-1/2 at the Lee Calhoun Meet in mid-April and hopes to return to that form this week. Henkins is ranked third with a height of 17’0-3/4. According to Haynes, Henkins is peaking at the right time.

"Jonny is well prepared and I think it’s possible for pole vaulters to get on a roll," said Haynes. "He’s really hot right now and we hope that will carry into the national meet."

The "consistent" Reschke is ranked sixth in the 400-meter dash. His national meet experience includes running on the 4x400 relay team, whose second-place finish last year clinched the Scots’ first team NCAA hardware.

Wilson will make his final trip in the discus and hammer throw, where he is ranked ninth and 13th, respectively.

"He’s really gotten into a groove technically in the hammer," said Haynes of Wilson. "The discus has been an emerging event for Zach, but he has been very consistent. He has a good chance at putting himself into position to become an All-American. Zach has always been a solid national performer, so I know he’ll be ready."

The school record-holder in the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Turczyn, is ranked fifth.

"Shannon tends to run well later in the season," said Haynes. "She’s a little ahead of where she’s been in the past, so we could expect to see a very fast time from her – maybe even challenge her own school record. Her tendency is to run better against the better competition and that’s the case this week."

Megan Clennon’s (Aurora, Ill./West) best high jump mark is less than three inches behind the leader and puts her fourth in the field entering the Friday competition. This will be the senior’s second trip to the national meet and her coach believes that will help her on the national stage.

"She prepares herself very well for competition," said Haynes. "She’s been jumping very well lately and tends to get up for the big meets. That will only help."

A long-term goal for sophomore Clay Staley (Hanna City, Ill./Illini Bluffs) will be realized this week when he makes his first outdoor national appearance in the steeplechase. His time, which is 30 seconds back of the top qualifier, placed him 12th.

"Clay was one of the last guys dropped from last year’s provisional qualifiers," reported Haynes. "I think that may have motivated him to make this year’s field. Although this is his first national meet, he is always so well prepared and has such a long vision of what needs to happen, I don’t think his lack of experience on this large stage will have a negative impact."

If the Scots’ men continue their steady improvement from third outdoor last season to second indoor this season, a national title could be just days away.

MOVIN’ ON UP

In the final poll prior to the NCAA Division III outdoor track & field national championships, Monmouth College’s women’s track team moved up the power rankings issued by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

The Fighting Scots’ women moved up to 12th place in the latest USTFCCCA rankings which compares teams based on performances during the current season. Monmouth’s women used their fourth straight Midwest Conference team title to garner nearly 276 rakings points and pull within 34 points of national leader UW-Oshkosh.

Monmouth’s men are also ranked 12th in the nation. The men picked up over 311 ranking points after their eighth straight MWC team title last week and trail the men’s leader by less than 24 points.

The track management web site Raceberryjam.com predicts the Monmouth women to place seventh and the men in a tie for 13th at next week’s national championships. The Raceberryjam.com figures are based on the athletes’ standings on the national performance list entering last weekend’s Last Chance Qualifiers.

SCORE THE PLAY “E-SCOREKEEPER”

Scots baseball fans may have been disappointed last week when the Midwest Conference released the season-ending all-conference list and senior designated hitter Ryan Priola (St. Charles, Ill./East) was not named to either the first or second team.

Coach Roger Sander first noticed the omission and made a quick call to the MWC baseball chair inquiring about the vote total. Seemed Sander had recalled Priola had received enough votes to make the first team, so where was he?

Not to worry, it was no conspiracy, no cloak-and-dagger back alley meeting, no "hanging chads." It was simply a clerical error.

A check of the vote of the league’s coaches added Priola to the list of first team all-conference members.

Priola picked up his third all-conference honor and his first as the Scots designated hitter, hitting .350 this season and ending his career with a .348 average. He hit a team-high 10 doubles and led the team in runs scored with 25. He was second in RBIs with 29.

Congratulations to Priola on ending a stellar career with another all-conference honor, and give the assist to Sander.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Thurs., May 22

Track & Field – at NCAA Outdoor National Championships – 1:00 pm