MC track off to fast start

By: Ian Van Anden
Sports Editor

The Monmouth College indoor track teams dominated their season opener at Knox College on Saturday, Jan. 20. As a team, the men tallied 194 points to claim first place; the next closest team was Cornell College, who scored 85 points in 15 events.

Senior Jeff Rebholz dominated the field and broke a school record in the weight throw with a provisional-qualifying throw of 57’02.25”. Rebholz broke junior teammate, Zach Wilson’s 2006 record throw by just a quarter inch. Rebohlz scored points for the Scots in the shot put where he placed second.

Junior Aaron Etienne did well for his team by placing first in two events. Etienne grabbed first place in the mile with a time of 4:32.19. He did not stop there; in the 800 Etienne grabbed his second first-place finish. Etienne ran the event in an impressive 1:59.84 time, allowing the team to celebrate yet another impressive win.

Senior Dante Daniels, who helped lead the Fighting Scots’ offense during the football season, is an important piece of the Scots’ short distance sprinter team. Like Etienne, Daniels captured two first-place finishes. First in the 55-meter and then in the 200-meter event. In the 55-meter, Daniels finished in a time of 6.62 and then followed that performance with a time of 1:59.84 in the 200.

The Scots had yet another senior capture two first-place finishes. This time it was Alex Stuart in both the long jump and triple jump. In the long jump, Stuart leaped a distance of 21’8-1/4”. Stuart continued his success on Saturday with his performance in the triple jump. He cleared a distance of 45’10-1/2” in the event to capture yet another first-place finish for Monmouth.

Freshman Clay Staley continued his collegiate success with a first place finish in the 3,000-meter run. Staley, who had a stand-out freshman year for the cross-country team, finished the 3,000-meter in a time of 9:01.14.

Monmouth’s relay teams were equally as impressive as the whole team on Saturday. The “A” team placed first in both the 4x200 and 4x400 events. Each team scored nine points to go toward the overall team total of 195.

The Scots have a difficult indoor season ahead of them, but they will look to build on the success they have experienced in past years. On Saturday, Jan. 27, the Scots will host the Midwest Invitational. The event will start at 10:30 a.m. in Monmouth College’s Huff Athletic Center.

In the 2006 indoor track season, the Fighting Scots men easily secured the Midwest Conference title. The team tallied 277 points with the next closest score being 69, scored by Illinois College. The Scots will look to duplicate the results in the 2007 season; so far, they are off to a good start.