Track runs away with another win

by Ian Van Anden
Asst. Sports Editor

The outdoor track season has been a successful one for the Monmouth College Fighting Scots. In their four meets this season, the MC men have placed first or second.

On Saturday, April 15, the Scots traveled to Macomb, Ill., to participate in the Lee Calhoun Meet. Of the seven teams at the meet, the Fighting Scots men’s team placed first. The Scots had seven first-place finishers. Junior Kel Bond dominated the 1500m race, winning it with a time of 4:03.21.

Senior Albert Greene continued his impressive senior year, grabbing two NCAA Provisional Qualifiers and a Monmouth College record. Greene finished second in the triple jump with a distance of 48’2-1/2, which was good enough for a NCAA Provisional Qualifier and another Monmouth College record.

At the Lee Calhoun Meet, triple jumper Alex Stuart finished in fourth. Stuart is also a NCAA Provisional Qualifier, jumping a distance of 47’2-3/4.

Junior Dante Daniels grabbed first place in the 200m, finishing the sprint in 21.80. Daniels, who has been a steady point-getter for the Scots, is another MC NCAA Provisional Qualifier.

Jonny Henkins and Peter Sprecher both performed well in the pole vault. Sprecher finished first in the event clearing a height of 16'2-3/4. Meanwhile, Henkins was able to grab second with a height of 15'7. Both MC teammates are now NCAA Provisional Qualifiers.

Sophomore Zachary Wilson continued his winning ways. He took first in the hammer throw competition and grabbed a second-place finish in the shotput with a distance of 51’8-1/4. Wilson’s shotput performance made him an NCAA Provisional Qualifier. Wilson also finished fifth in the discus.

The MC men’s 4x400 "A" relay team also qualified for the NCAA Provisional. The relay team was fast enough to finish second with a time of 3:16.01.

On the women’s side, the team finished third overall. Christina Reiner was the lone NCAA Provisional Qualifier. She qualified in the high jump with a leap of 5'6. Reiner also finished 10th in the long jump.

Kila Cox had a solid outing for the Scots. Cox had two top-five finishes which included a second place finish in the 400-meter dash. Cox’s other top-five finish came in the 200m.

Ashley Widdop had a dynamic performance in her two hurdle competitions. She finished fourth in both the 100m high hurdles and the 400m hurdles.

Megan McKenna had three top-five placements to add to the women’s success. Her best performance came in the triple jump, where she placed third. McKenna tied for fourth in the pole vault and finished fifth in the long jump.

On Saturday, April 22, the Fighting Scots took part in the Dick Young Classic in Grinnell, Iowa. The men finished second out of the 17 teams while the women were third of the same 17.

The men’s team had impressive outings from many of its athletes. One of the top stories was the Reschke brothers in the 400m. Freshman Luke Reschke beat out elder brother, MC junior Josh Reschke. Luke finished with a time of 49.67 and took third place. His brother finished in fourth with a time of 50.24.

Wilson had yet another record-breaking weekend. This time, he smashed the Dick Young Classic record in the hammer throw with a distance of 172’6. He finished first in the event. Wilson also captured first in the shotput with a distance of 51’9-3/4.

Greene once again excelled in the long and triple jump competitions. In the long jump, Greene finished third with a distance of 22’10. He followed that performance with another third-place finish in the triple jump with a flight of 45’3-1/2.

Sophomore Seth Leitner finished fifth in the steeplechase with a time of 10:01.33. Leitner finished one spot ahead of teammate Alex Rodriguez. The Scots saw two teammates finish back-to-back again in the 10,000m as Scott Heiar and Tanner Scott finished three and four respectively. Heiar had a time of 33:30.37, while Scott finished in 33:58.83.

Kel Bond finished second in the 800m, with a time of 1:54.07. Daniels received third place in the 200m dash finishing in 22.06.

Both Stuart and junior Tim Frank captured first place finishes in their respective events. Stuart got his first-place finish with a throw of 187’9 in the javelin. Frank finished first in the high jump, leaping 6'4-3/4.

The women finished in the top three in seven separate events at the Dick Young Classic. Cox led them to a hot start with her second place finish in the 400m, finishing in 59.65. Senior Erin Mann finished in 40:14.94 in the 10,000m run.

Shannon Turczyn and McKenna both qualified for the NCAA Provisional in their events. Turczyn finished second in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.96. Meanwhile McKenna placed second in the pole vault, flying an impressive 11’1-3/4. McKenna also finished second in the triple jump, bounding 36’8-1/2.

Valerie Davies captured the lone women’s first-place finish in the steeplechase, finishing in a time of 12:11.76. Megan Clennon finished third in the high jump, soaring 5'1.

On Friday and Saturday April 28 and 29, the Scots took a group to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. The men’s only finisher was senior Anthony Welty in the 10k run. Welty finished 16th in the event. The women’s 4x200m relay team finished 11th.

On Saturday, May 6, the Scots will compete in the UW-Madison Open in Madison, Wisc.