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Scots seek record number of
All-Americans at nationals
Release Date: May 23, 2006
MONMOUTH, Ill. — In 1992, the
Monmouth College track team had a total of nine All-American
finishes, led by Charles Burton’s national championship in the
400-meter hurdles that helped the men place seventh in the nation.
Fourteen years later, Fighting Scots track coach Roger Haynes sees
that number of nine as the most important goal to surpass at the
Division III National Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which
will be held Thursday through Saturday at Benedictine University in
Lisle, Ill.
“I told the kids that if everybody just finished seventh or eighth
and we had multiple All-Americans, that would be more important to
me than finishing with a lot of team points,” said Haynes. “The team
finish would be secondary to getting a lot of kids on the podium.”
Last year, Haynes saw the Scots score 20 points at the men’s
national meet thanks to the individual titles won by Zach Barr and
Blake Boma. Rather than getting points from only two performers,
it’s not out of the question that the 23-year Monmouth coach might
see a repeat of 1992, when six men’s entries scored en route to a
30-point showing that allowed the Scots to finish seventh in the
team standings.
In all, the Scots could have 14 All-American finishes this weekend,
including 10 on the men’s side. If the seeds hold according to form,
Monmouth would have seven All-American entries, with junior sprinter
Dante Daniels involved in three of them. Daniels is ranked fourth in
the 100-meter dash (10.49) and eighth in the 200-meter dash (21.44),
and he runs the leadoff leg on the Scots’ fifth-ranked 4x400 team
(3:13.02) that also includes junior Tyler Rundle and brothers Josh
Reschke and Luke Reschke.
“I think Dante will have to run in the high 10.50s or the low 10.60s
to make the finals,” predicted Haynes. “In the 200, he’ll need the
middle 21.50s, but he’s done that twice in a row, so I feel good
about his chances. In the 4x400, if they all run their best at the
same time, they can run extremely fast. That will be a very close
race.”
Monmouth’s other All-Americans on paper are senior Albert Greene,
who is seeded sixth in the triple jump (48’2-1/2); junior Tim Frank,
who is seventh in the high jump (6’8-3/4); sophomore Peter Sprecher,
who is fifth in the pole vault (16’4-3/4); and sophomore Jenny Babos,
who is fourth in the discus (151’8).
Babos is the Cinderella story of the group, as she shot from nowhere
to Monmouth’s highest-ranked female after her record-shattering
throw at Friday’s last chance qualifier meet at Augustana. Babos had
never topped 140’0 in the event, but she improved her PR by 14 feet
and blew past the old Monmouth record of 145’10 set by Tennille
McClure in 1997.
“She’s got great ability in terms of strength,” said Haynes, who
added that Babos’ technique came into alignment with that strength
last Friday to result in the record throw.
Teammate Shannon Turczyn also starred at the Augustana meet,
lowering her school record in the 100-meter hurdles to 14.46.
“She ran very well versus two national qualifiers,” said Haynes.
“Running against bigger competition doesn’t always make you run
faster, but Shannon handled the race very well. She’s going to need
to be in the 14.50s, or maybe the high 14.40s, to finish in the top
eight.”
In general, Haynes said “not a large percentage of athletes at
nationals exceed their top performances.” What he hopes from his own
contingent is that they’ll repeat their best marks from the season
and let the chips fall where they may.
One competitor who could improve on her best, though, is pole
vaulter Jessica White.
“She’s had the best last three weeks of anyone,” said Haynes, who
has seen the sophomore post the top three vaults in school history
in her last three competitions. She is ranked 12th in the field and
would seriously challenge for All-American honors if she could clear
12’0, which she has come close to doing recently.
Her male vaulting counterparts, Sprecher and sophomore Jonny Henkins
(16’0), could both reach the podium, and that double All-American
finish is also the goal in the triple jump, where steady Alex Stuart
is ranked 11th at 47’8-1/2. Stuart has a little more ground to make
up in the javelin, where he just made the field with a throw of
191’5. He figures to need an increase of six feet or so to contend
for All-American honors.
In the high jump, Monmouth also has a men’s and women’s combo going,
as Christina Reiner is ranked 11th (5’6). Frank, who cleared 6’7 at
Coe last week, “should be fairly rested” and is jumping well,
according to Haynes. Reiner cleared 5’4-1/2 at Augustana and figures
to need to make the 5’5 height to make the national finals.
Shot putter Zach Wilson (53’1-1/2) is ranked 15th. Adding a foot to
that throw would move him just outside the top 10.
The competitions for Sprecher, Henkins, White and Babos will be
Thursday, while taking part in preliminaries that day will be
Daniels (200-meter dash) and the 4x400 team. On Friday, Reiner and
Frank will compete in finals, while Turczyn and Daniels (100-meter
dash) will try to make it out preliminary competition and into the
next day’s finals. The finals for the shot put, triple jump and
javelin are all on Saturday.
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