Eight Earn All-American Status

Release Date: May 26, 2001

Constance Jackson did not get the national title she had hoped for in the 200 meters, but she was one of eight Fighting Scots tracksters to earn All-American status at the national track and field meet held this weekend at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill., picking up the honors in three events: the 200 meters, 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Jackson’s time of 25.07 in the 200 meters was bested only by national champion Rhondale Jones of Lincoln (Penn.) University who broke the tape in 24.57. Earlier in the day the Monmouth junior had teamed with Elise Estes, Jill Hoops and Philicia Moredock in running the 4x100 relay in 48.31 to finish 7^th. The foursome then competed in the last race of the day, the 4x400 finishing 6^th with a time of 3:49.67.

Monmouth’s two 110 hurdles entries qualified for the finals and each earned All-American status. Junior Scott Stanton finished in 14.84 to take 5^th while freshman Calvin Opgenorth earned All-American with an 8^th place finish with a time of 17.41.

With Friday’s top eight performance by seniors Cort Mills (T4th, High Jump) and Eric Holmes (4^th, Shot Put) the Fighting Scots All-American count grew to eight in six events, the most to earn the honor since 1992 when nine athletes earned the status.

In team scoring the Monmouth men completed the meet 16^th out of 73 team represented with 14-1/2 points while the women were 13^th of 71 teams with 13 points.

May 25, 2001

Two Monmouth College athletes earned All-American honors at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships Friday in Decatur, Ill., and two more qualified for Saturday’s finals.

Cort Mills was the first to earn the All-American honor, tying for fourth in the high jump with a leap of 6’9. Mills, a former Class A state champion while competing for the Monmouth/Yorkwood co-op, concludes his collegiate career with a pair of outdoor All-American honors, plus an indoor All-American finish this spring. The national champion in the event is Mark Mirabito of Cortland-SUNY, who soared 6’11.

Three hours later, Eric Holmes, who is also a senior, turned the trick, with his best heave in the shot put traveling 54’1-3/4. It was Holmes’ first outdoor All-American finish to go with his first indoor honor this spring. The event was won by Jim Nelson of UW-La Crosse, who threw 57’2-1/4.

Together, Holmes and Mills produced 9.5 points for the Fighting Scots, but Monmouth will add to that total Saturday thanks to freshman Calvin Opgenorth and junior Scott Stanton, who each reached the 110-meter hurdle finals. Opgenorth clocked the second-fastest time of 14.53, while Stanton was seventh-fastest in 14.75. The pair will run at 1:15 p.m. tomorrow on the Millikin University campus. Defending champion Chris Cobbs of Lincoln (Penn.) University has the qualifying heat fastest time (14.27).

The two women competing Friday each turned in solid performances but fell just short of qualifying for All-American status. Sophomore Kara Kuhrts’ best triple jump was 36’11. The eighth-place finisher in the event went 37’8.

In the 100-meter dash, junior Constance Jackson ran a time of 12.55 in her qualifying heat but the slowest time to make Saturday’s finals was 12.46. Jackson can take consolation in the fact that she’ll be running in the finals of three events Saturday – the 200-meter dash and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays with sophomores Philicia Moredock and Jill Hoops and senior Elise Estes.

Constance Jackson’s goal of a national championship got a little closer to becoming reality Thursday, as the Monmouth College junior clocked the second-fastest qualifying time in the 200-meter dash at the Division III Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Decatur, Ill.

Jackson was just getting started, however, as she also helped the women’s 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams earn berths in the finals.

"She had a very good day overall," said coach Roger Haynes. "She was able to separate her energies very well."

In the 200, Jackson trails only defending national champion Rhondale Jones of Lincoln (Penn.) University. Jones won her qualifying heat in 24.52, while Jackson was tops in her heat in 24.78. The final will be run at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Jackson won’t have long to rest, as she’ll run in the 4x400 final at 4:15 p.m. that day along with Philicia Moredock, Jill Hoops and Elise Estes. The group ran the sixth-fastest qualifying time of 3:50.41 on Thursday, trimming .07 off their school record.

"That will be very normal for Constance in terms of the time she normally has to rest at meets," said Haynes, who added that Jackson, who normally clocks a splt in the mid- to upper-57-second range had a 55.7 split Thursday. "She really rose to the occasion."

At 12:40 p.m. Saturday, the same four women will run in the 4x100 final. They reached that race by clocking the eighth-best time of 47.76 Thursday. That mark was also a school record, breaking the 47.95 time set by Stacy Brown, Heather Furrow, Christy Keller and Jackson in 1998.

Monmouth’s other bids to reach the finals were not successful. Pole vaulter Aaron Walker did not clear the opening height, and 400-meter hurdlers Hoops and Moredock ran times of 1:04.23 and 1:04.96, respectively. The slowest qualifying time for the finals was 1:02.66. The men’s 4x100 group of Amon Shelby, Matt Beverly, Calvin Opgenorth and Justin Bryant ran a time of 41.73, missing the finals by .34 of a second.

"They ran fine," Haynes said of the 4x100 squad. "They executed what they needed to do,but they weren’t quite on their best."

Jackson long jumped 15’11-3/4 to miss the finals by nearly two feet, but Haynes said she had a jump that would have qualified for the finals but was foul by half an inch.

Competing today for the Scots are Cort Mills in the high jump, Eric Holmes in the shot put, Opgenorth and Scott Stanton in the 110-meter hurdles, Kara Kuhrts in the triple jump and Jackson in the 100-meter dash.

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