MONMOUTH, Ill. – Not since the 2001 Midwest Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships has Monmouth College failed to come way with the team title at a league meet.

The Fighting Scots string of team championships reached 10 with the victories by the men’s and women’s squads at the MWC outdoor meet, which was held last weekend at Monmouth’s Bobby Woll Memorial Field.

Monmouth’s men have now claimed 12 outdoor championships since 1985 and the women’s title was the Scots’ fourth straight and seventh in the last eight years. Including indoor championships, the men have won 15 of the last 18 MWC meets and the women have won 13 of the last 16 title competitions.

The 2003 meets were never in doubt, as the Scots jumped out in front after Friday’s action and pulled away on Saturday. The women scored 180.5 points to defeat their closest competitor, Carroll, by 42.5 points. The men completely dominated, posting 231 points to leave runner-up St. Norbert’s score of 101.5 far behind.

“Certainly, to win is a good thing,” said Monmouth track coach Roger Haynes, who now has coached MC teams to 29 indoor and outdoor titles. “Getting to host this year puts a different spin on it. I didn’t get to see as much as I would like, but we handled the individual events well. We had some mistakes, but there were a lot more highlights.”

At the league’s indoor meet, Monmouth’s Keenan King made news by coming up just short in two classic showdowns with St. Norbert’s Ben Dreyer. King was in the news again at the outdoor meet, as he assumed the mantle of “Monmouth’s Fastest Man,” breaking Charles Burton’s school record in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.68. King streaked to the record time in a preliminary heat of the race, and the mark qualifies him provisionally for the national meet and is ranked eighth in the nation.

King, who also won the final in 10.68, wasn’t finished, nearly breaking the school 200-meter dash record, too. Teammate Ryan Moll broke the conference record at the distance in his qualifying heat, finishing in 21.59, but his record only lasted a few minutes, as King was clocked in 21.44, just three-hundredeths of a second off David Thompson’s school record. King then topped second- and third-place finishers Moll (22.23) and Aaron Olson (22.56) in the final, running a time of 21.56. His preliminary time is sixth-best nationally and Moll is now ranked 11th.

The splendid sophomore added a victory in the pole vault (16’0) and also ran on two winning relay teams, joining Jason Kerr, Moll and Olson in the 4x100 (42.18) and running with Nathan Gaskill, Moll and Ortez Davis in the 4x400 (3:19.50).

King became just the second Monmouth man to win five events at an MWC meet. Burton accomplished the feat in 1991.

King captured two of the Most Outstanding Performer honors at the meet – one for field and one for track – and the men’s track honor was shared with teammate Zach Barr, who won the 1500-meter run (4:20.13) and the steeplechase (a personal best of 9:40.13).

“Everybody else is pleased with what Zach has done, bit I think there is a lot more out there for him if he chooses to do it,” said Haynes. “If he thinks this is as good as it gets, he’s wrong. He can improve a lot more and should absolutely set goals to be an NCAA-qualifying runner.”

Another multiple winner for the Scots was Kara Kuhrts, who captured her fourth straight outdoor triple jump title with a leap of 37’9-1/4. Kuhrts, who also owns three indoor triple jump championships, also won the long jump (17’10-1/4) and placed second in the high jump (5’2) and 200-meter dash (26.67). The efforts led to a Most Outstanding Performer honor for her, as well.

“Kara definitely has a solid weekend for us,” said Haynes, who was voted both the men’s and women’s Coach of the Year following the meet. “She was solid in all three jumps, and she was second in the 200, which is a good accomplishment for her.”

While Kuhrts was 7-for-8 in MWC triple jump competitions (she missed the indoor title her freshman season by one inch), teammate Melissa Jones did achieve perfection, winning all eight MWC high jump titles in her career. Jones cleared 5’6 to win the 2003 outdoor event and became the only athlete, male or female, in MC track history to sweep an event both indoors and outdoors.

“It’s absolutely a remarkable accomplishment,” said Haynes. “The MWC meet has an historical significance to it. Records can be broken, but nobody can do better than winning their event eight times.”

Other winners for the Scots included Katy Healy in the discus (132’7), Tracy Nelson in the javelin (a provisional mark of 127’2), Davis in the 110-meter hurdles (15.26), Matt Copple in the shot put (46’5-1/2) and Blake Boma in the 400-meter hurdles (a provisional time of 53.65).

Runner-up performances for MC came from Shalyn Shirey in the 100-meter dash (12.60), Cheris Beaty in the pole vault (10’0), Philicia Moredock in the long jump (17’0-1/4), Healy in the javelin (103’0), Moll in the 400-meter dash (48.82), Chase Slover in the 110-meter hurdles (15.66), Davis in the 400-meter hurdles (54.56), John Roberts in the high jump (6’6), Jason Abitua in the pole vault (a personal best 13’6), Copple in the discus (141’2), Jeremy Irwin in the javelin (a personal best of 166’3), Albert Greene in the triple jump (45’2-1/2) and the women’s 4x100 relay team of Melissa Pacheco, Shirey, Moredock and Maggie Gallentine (50.19).

“Two very pleasant surprises were the performances of Jeremy Irwin and Jason Abitua,” said Haynes, who noted that Irwin shattered his personal best by 20 feet. “I was also pleased to see Blake Boma run a provisional time in the hurdles. (Freshmen) Melissa Pacheco and Maggie Gallentine each made the finals of both the 100 and the 200, and that was good to see.”

Placing third were Elizabeth Altekruse in the 1500-meter run (5:01.36), Moredock in the 400-meter hurdles (1:06.12), Amy Horneck in the triple jump (a personal best of 34’11), Healy in the shot put (40’1), Meaghan Tobias in the discus (118’7), Olson in the 100-meter dash (11.06) and Jason Killion in the long jump (a personal best of 22’10-3/4).

Other athletes who scored for the Scots at the meet were Katie McGee, Jill Hoops, Abby Horneck, Christina Reiner, Aaron Calder, Anthony Welty, David Dare, James VanDyke, Evan Harrison and Oscar Scott.

Men's Outdoor Track  |  Women's Outdoor Track