Indoor Track 2000 Preview

January 26, 2000

A year ago, the Monmouth College Fighting Scots indoor track teams had their run of Midwest Conference championships stopped by Carroll College. The women, who won titles from 1996-98, placed second in the conference, while the men, who began their title run in 1995, slipped to third.

Coach Roger Haynes returns much of the talent from those squads and has added several very talented new athletes to the mix, as the Scots hope to make the transition from the dominant team of the 1990s to the elite MWC squad of the new millennium.

"The comment that I’ve used when talking to the team is, ‘When you’re good enough, you’ll win again," said Haynes on the eve of the Scots’ first meet at Iowa State University Jan. 22. "Perhaps there’s more ways to look at track as a success than team championships. I’m really stressing to the group to focus on school records. I told them, ‘If you achieve any of these, you’ve achieved at a high level.’"

One athlete who was listening was David Hodge. The sophomore improved his personal-best by over two feet to 45’11 3/4 as he broke a nine-year-old MC mark in the triple jump at Ames Saturday. Hodge teamed with another field event star – Cort Mills, who high jumped 6’5 – to have Monmouth’s top two finishes at the highly competitive meet.

Another male athlete who will be counted on by Haynes this year is high hurdler Scott Stanton, the returning conference champion. Mills, who was an outdoor All-American in the high jump, also is a defending MWC titlist, and the Scots’ other individual champion last season, sprinter Justin Bryant is back in the fold, too.

"Justin looks to be our top male sprinter, at any distance," said Haynes of the returning 200-meter champion.

Bryant ran on two conference champion relays as well, and athletes back from those tape-breakers include Matt Beverly, Vaughn Gray and Randy Williams.

Monmouth has a champion back from the 1998 and 1997 squads, too. Bryant was on the first-place 4x400 relay team in ’98, along with Toby Vallas, who now serves as an assistant coach.

Jamie Nelson was the 1500-meter champion in ’97, and Haynes reports the injury-plagued distance man "is training considerably better than the past few years."

Tony Miles is Haynes’ top distance threat, while Aaron Calder has also looked promising. Miles and Calder both competed on the cross country team this fall, as did Bryan Bittner, Frank Clark, David Dare, Matt Hargleroad, Charlie Sunderlage and Ken Williams.

In sprints, James Amerison, Zach Hampson, the "tremendously-improved" Chris Lacy, Will Smith and Giaco Yanez all have talent and, with Bryant to lead them, give the Scots great depth in that department. Yanez was fourth in the state in high hurdles and won the prestigious Peoria Journal-Star meet, while Smith is a transfer from West Point.

Eric Holmes and Tobias Dickerson give the Scots a pair of talented throwers, and Haynes is excited about pole vaulter Aaron Walker, who "has done his work in the weight room" and is clearing school-record heights in practice. Walker set the MC indoor mark of 13’8 a year ago.

"We’ve improved in the men’s jumps and middle distance and distance events," said Haynes, who added, "Having another hurdler (Yanez) doesn’t hurt, either."

On the women’s side, Constance Jackson, the reigning Midwest Conference indoor MVP, leads a stable of extremely talented sprinters, which also includes Phelicia Moredock, 1999 relay champion member Maggie Semington and Jill Hoops. Jackson, who qualified for the indoor national meet in the 400-meter dash, won three individual events at the MWC meet last year and was joined on two winning relays by Elise Estes, who also returns. The year before, Jackson had one individual league title and two relay titles and Estes ran on a winning relay. Two other conference champs back for the Scots are long jumper Julie Larson and high jumper Jaime Jones. Larson also qualified for the national meet last season.

Jackson and Larson are both MC indoor record-holders, as Jackson was clocked at 25.84 in the 200-meter dash and Larson soared 18’5 1/2 in the long jump.

While no national qualifiers are on the men’s side, a former qualifier, hurdler Brian Woodard, is also on Haynes’ staff and is coaching the throwers. Vanessa Armstrong figures to be Woodard’s top athlete in those events.

Haynes has been impressed by the leadership of senior distance runner Ann Moody, and he noted the women’s team will also receive a boost when sprinter Kara Kuhrts and high jumper Melissa Jones join the squad after finishing their basketball commitments. That should occur before the MWC Meet, which will be held in Galesburg on March 3-4.

"Carroll should be very strong again, I think, and Grinnell is traditionally tough, too," said Haynes, when sizing up the obstacles to a return to the top for Monmouth.

"Our individuals are much stronger than they’ve been in any of my 18 years here," added the coach, who has led the men’s squad to six indoor championships and nine outdoor titles in 16 years as head coach.