The Monmouth College men and women’s outdoor track teams have worked extremely hard this year, and this past weekend’s meet proved how far the team has come. The men placed in first out of 19 teams, and the women took second place out of 17 teams.

Senior Chuck Lief stated, “I thought it was a decent meet for us.  I think we had some good performances, and the distance guy [senior Aaron Etienne] ran really well and put himself in a position to do great at the conference meet in a couple of weeks.”

In the meet at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill., several athletes stood out. Etienne dominated long distance events. He placed first in the 1500 meters with a time of 4:00.84 and took first place in the 5000 meters, clocking in at 15:19.05.

Senior pole vaulter Jonny Henkins continued his hard work as he received first place provisional qualifying height, vaulting 16’0. Freshman valuter Brock McAnally placed behind Henkins. Sophomore Bradley Begyn contributed with a third place finish in the 10000 meters.

Senior Brad Gross received fifth place in the 400 hurdles and sixth in the long jump. Freshman Tyler Hannam stepped up to place third in the high jump. Senior thrower Dan Higgins took sixth place in the javelin toss, while senior Seth Leitner came through with a second place finish in the steeplechase.

Lief finished in fourth place in the triple jump, and senior Adam Rodriguez earned fourth place in the 800. Clay Staley continued to run hard, taking third place in the 1500 with a time of 4:02.74.

Senior thrower Zach Wilson has dominated this season once again and received third place in the shot put and second in the hammer toss. The men’s 4X100 relay team finished second, and the 4X400 “A” relay team also received second place.

The ladies continued their dominance in the meet when freshman Mary Kate Beyer achieved a new school record with her second place finish in the steeplechase, clocking in at 11:43.13.

Senior Jenny Babos threw well again, placing third in the shot put and third in the discus. Junior Tanesha Hughes came off of a long basketball season, and has faired well so far, receiving first place in the discus with a throw of 147’2, a provisional qualifying distance. Hughes also took second place in the shot put.

Senior Megan Clennon worked hard in the field, placing second in the javelin and fifth in the hammer toss. Senior Jess White finished in third place in the pole vault, as freshmen Whitney Didier and Sarah Stinson tied for fifth.

Junior sprinter Shannon Turczyn had a great meet, taking third in the 100 meters and provisionally qualifying in the 100 hurdles with a time of 14.99. Junior Katey Vaccarello (KTV) received second place in the 400 hurdles.

The Fighting Scots have practiced hard all year, and will continue to work hard as they get ready to head to Des Moines, Iowa, to compete in the Drake Relays.

“Practice is obviously the most important thing we need to do before the conference meet.  We all are more focused and more dedicated to getting prepared to do great things,” stated Lief.

Looking further ahead into the schedule, the Midwest Conference Championships are held on May 9-10 in Galesburg, Ill.

“With the conference meet being so close now, we need to really focus on getting good marks in for seed times and flight placement.  This is the most important time of the season not only for the entire team but also for the seniors since it is the last few weeks we will be running together.  We all just need to come together and do what we have been doing for the entire season,” Lief commented.

The Fighting Scots will travel to Iowa this weekend for more action on their way to the conference championships.

“It has been a privilege to compete with the guys on the track team, especially the seniors.  These past four years have been amazing, and I would not trade them for anything.  I’d also like to say good luck to the younger guys on the team and to keep working hard and to keep MC track at the top for several years to come,” added Lief.

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