Four Scots Win All-MWC Honors

Release Date: November 5, 2002

MONMOUTH, Ill. — Coach Roger Haynes’ cross country teams at Monmouth are not where he wants them to be yet, but several years from now, the 2002 season might be viewed as a key stepping stone toward realizing Haynes’ vision.

The veteran coach is known for producing championship teams at Monmouth, as his men’s and women’s track squads have claimed a total of 25 indoor and outdoor Midwest Conference titles. So you can forgive Haynes if he wasn’t ecstatic about only taking second in the men’s race at the MWC Championships Saturday and sixth in the women’s competition.

“It’s not where we want to be, but both teams ran pretty well overall,” he said. The men were runner-up to Grinnell for the second year in a row, while the women continued a rise that saw them improve two places and 101 points in 2001 and an additional place and 59 points this season. The squad was just eight points from moving up another notch to fifth.

“Aleksandra Forsman (DeKalb, IL/HS) was the No. 1 freshman in the field, and Elizabeth Altekruse (18th, 20:17) ran extremely well,” said Haynes.

Altekruse, a junior, missed all-conference honors by 12 seconds, but two runners who didn’t miss out were Forsman (12th, 19:53) and senior Lindsey Whately (Fairbury, IL/Prairie Central), who placed ninth in 19:46. The pair became the first MC women to earn all-conference honors since 1997.

The men also had a pair of All-MWC finishers, as freshman Zach Barr (Roseville, IL/HS) led the way with a fifth-place finish in 26:39 and senior Bryan Bittner (Fairbury, IL/Prairie Central) took 11th in 27:06.

“Brian really ran a nice race and showed a lot of improvement from his conference finish a year ago (26th),” said Haynes. “Aaron Calder (21st, 27:58) and David Dare (34th, 28:29) also improved from a year ago, which is what you would expect from a group of senior runners.”

Additionally, seniors Matt Hargelroad (26th, 18:18) and Frank Clark (31st, 28:22) scored for the Scots.

Although the men’s team will be hit hard by graduation, Barr will lead a group next season that also includes Anthony Welty (Dixon, IL/Newman) and Sean Fitzgerald (Oak Lawn, IL/Marist).

Only Whately will be lost from the women’s regular scorers, leading Haynes to say, “If we can add one or two top freshmen to each team, that should really set the table for more improvements next season and help both teams get in even better position to challenge for the conference title.”

Although the conference meet is behind them, the Scots still have another challenge in 2002 – the NCAA regional meet, which will be hosted by SIU-Edwardsville on Nov. 16.

“I think the most immediate goal for both teams is to finish in the upper half of the field,” said Haynes. “I think a number of our kids can go down there and run their best race of the season.”

Men's Cross Country  |  Women's Cross Country