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Shannon Turczyn took first place in
the 55 meter hurdles on Saturday and lowered her school record. |
In 1990, the Monmouth
College men’s track team won the Midwest Conference outdoor meet. In
every year since, with the exception of 1999, at least one Fighting
Scots track team has captured one of the four MWC championships up for
grabs. In nine of those seasons, Monmouth won all four titles, and the
Scots are headed in that direction again after winning the men’s and
women’s crowns at the MWC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which
they hosted last weekend on Niblock Track in the Huff Athletic Center.
In many recent seasons, the men’s meet has been a formality, with the
Scots cruising to victory by more than 100 points. This year, they were
challenged, but they came away with 149 points to top Illinois College
by 24. A total of five teams scored at least 107 points.
It was on the women’s side where the Scots’ victory was more decisive.
Monmouth defeated its closest competitor, Carroll, by a score of
195-137, and two MC competitors established meet records. Shannon
Turczyn lowered her school record in the 55-meter hurdles to 8.33
seconds, and she currently has the fifth-fastest time in the country.
Gloria Lehr won the shot put with an MWC-record heave of 44’8, which
also set a new school mark. She is ranked seventh nationally in her
event and took home Most Outstanding Performer of the meet honors after
also placing fourth in the weight throw (46’5-1/4).
Hurdlers and throwers are a strong point for the Scots this season, as
Logan Hohl won the men’s 55-meter event in 7.78 and Amanda Streeter took
first in the weight throw (48’1-1/4). Other individual winners for the
Scots were Brock McAnally in the pole vault (15’-1/4) and Luke Reschke
in the 400-meter dash (49.41). Coach Roger Haynes had promised an
exciting race in the latter event, and it did not disappoint. Four
sprinters broke the 50-second barrier, and two set Niblock Track
records. Reschke now has the seventh-ranked 400 time nationally, and
Hohl is ranked seventh in the hurdles. Reschke, Hohl, Ryan Hardman and
Jacob Stott comprise the sixth-ranked 4x400 team in the nation after
clocking the runner-up time of 3:19.37 at the MWC meet.
Although she didn’t win an event, senior Megan McKenna had a meet to
remember, scoring 22 points for the Scots with runner-up finishes in the
pole vault (11’6-1/4) and triple jump (35’9-1/2) and a third-place
showing in the long jump (17’6). Fresh off leading all Midwest
Conference women’s basketball players in scoring and rebounding, Tanesha
Hughes placed second to Lehr and Streeter in the shot put and weight
throw.
