O’BRIEN IN THE HALL

The following story featuring Monmouth College alum Joe O’Brien ’77, by Susan Denk appeared in the Tuesday, Feb. 12 edition of the Burlington Hawk Eye and is reprinted with the permission of Ms. Denk.

Three times Joe O’Brien took Southeastern Community College to the NJCAA National Tournament. Three times O'Brien and the Blackhawks came away with the national championship.

The accomplishment put O’Brien in elite company, one of only three coaches to ever win three titles at that level.

Now the feat has led to O’Brien's election into the NJCAA Men's Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

O’Brien -- now the coach at NCAA Division I Idaho State -- was notified of his selection by Wayne Baker, the executive director of the NJCAA, Monday night.

"It's kind of neat," said O’Brien Friday as he was on his way to Burlington to watch tonight’s SCC-Marshalltown game at Loren Walker Arena. "It's kind of a shock, kind of a surprise. A good surprise."

Tim Walsh was alongside O’Brien for all three titles, serving as an assistant coach before taking over the program when O’Brien left. It was Walsh who nominated O’Brien for the award two years ago.

"I thought he stands up there with the greatest junior college coaches of all time," said Walsh, the interim head coach at Eastern Arizona. "Obviously his record speaks for itself. But it wasn't just about winning championships and games. I got to see firsthand how he developed young men. All you have to do is talk to former guys and (hear) what they have to say about their experience. That says a lot about Joe."

O'Brien – who grew up in Macomb, Ill., and attended Monmouth College – began his juco coaching career at Lincoln (Ill.) after being an assistant under Jim Wooldridge at Central Missouri State for five seasons. Then when the SCC job came open after Jim Wyatt retired, O’Brien knew that was the job he wanted.

"That was THE job in my book," O’Brien said.

O’Brien helped Walsh form his coaching philosophy and taught him lessons Walsh keeps with him to this day.

"First of all, the organization and preparation of not only being ready for the game but in terms of the program overall, how things were organized and run and the expectations we had," Walsh said. "I think you take a little bit from every coach. He helped develop my philosophy on defense. That was a huge thing for me. I hadn't done any zone so I learned the benefits of that defense and using it to your advantage."

Walsh will be in Hutchinson, Kan., for the induction ceremony although it is yet to be determined whether he will go on his own or if his team will accompany him. The Gila Monsters are 19-4 and hoping for a berth in the tournament.

"Obviously it would be even better if we were there with our team, but we’ll just take that as it is," Walsh said.

The national tournament is March 18-22. O’Brien will be recognized March 18.

With the Midwest Conference indoor track championships coming up this weekend, the Monmouth College track team was more interested in improving performances than the team scores at Saturday’s Wartburg Invitational.

As a team, the Scots’ men finished second and the women were third in the three team meet. But it was the improvement of the performances that lifted the Scots. Monmouth provisionally qualified three additional events – two men’s and one women’s – for next month’s national meet. "Overall, we were better in the sprints and middle distances, but not as good as I was expecting in the jumping events," said coach Roger Haynes.

Junior Luke Reschke (Geneseo, Ill./Geneseo) led the list of provisional qualifiers. He posted the nation’s top time in winning the 400-meters with a personal-best (48.93). He teamed with Aaron Daveron (Herscher, Ill./Herscher), Jacob Stott (Morris, Ill./Coal City) and Brad Gross (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) to win the 4x400 relay with a provisional qualifying mark (3:20.27). The time is less than two seconds off the automatic qualifying time and is tops in the Midwest Conference.

Daveron, who missed the first three meets, picked up two additional firsts – winning the 55-meters (6.57) and the 200 (22.51). The 200 time was a personal best and ranks him third in the conference. He tied his personal best in the 55 meter race and is ranked fourth in the league in that event. Gross and Stott finished 2-3 behind Daverin in the 200 (22.7 and 22.81, respectively).

"Aaron made some decisions prior to the Illinois Wesleyan meet to start getting himself ready (for the conference meet)," reported Haynes. "We had a talk about the chicken and the egg. Once the egg hatched, it was what he wanted it to be. He had a plan and got himself ready and is reaping the rewards. Some people have to see results before they get confident. He got confident and that, in turn, produced results. That’s the best way to do it."

Zach Wilson also claimed a pair of firsts. For the second week in a row, Wilson threw 60’4" in the weight throw, just missing the automatic qualifying mark by two inches. His 49’9-3/4" mark in the shot was just in front of freshman Peyton Lumzy in second (45’9-1/4"). Clay Staley logged a personal- and conference-best time while winning the mile (4:20.60). Scott Sheller logged a personal-best, despite losing a shoe early in the race, with his third place finish in the 3,000-meters (9:13.69).

Haynes was impressed with Sheller’s performance in the 3K. "The highlight of the day for me was Sheller’s PR," he said. "He got stepped on five laps into the race and got spiked down the back of one leg and lost a shoe on the other. He still finished the race and ran a lifetime best by nearly 13 seconds. It shows what can be done when you’ve got your mind right."

Haynes also praised the performance of his middle distance runners. Damon Baustista, Adam Rodriguez and Seth Leitner ran an 800 pack time between 2:00.27 and 2:01.13. Those times place the trio in the top seven performers in the MWC.

The Scots finished 1-2-3 in the pole vault. Seniors Jonny Henkins and Peter Sprecher each cleared provisional heights of 16’6-3/4’, with Henkins declared the winner on attempts. Freshman Brock McAnally took third (13’11-1/4"). Sheridan Ray moved to third in the MWC rankings and placed second in the long jump (21’4"). Chuck Lief triple jumped 43’5-1/4" to place third in the event. Tyler Hannam improved his high jump by four inches and moved into fourth in the MWC, clearing 6’3-1/4" to take third.

Shannon Turczyn (Peru, Ill./LaSalle-Peru) qualified provisionally in the 55-meter hurdles prelims (8.55) and finished third in the finals (8.68). Her prelim time ranks her tops in the MWC by more than a half-second. "Shannon had a solid day," reported Haynes. "She had a tough combination of races, running the 55 (7.75 prelims), the 400, the hurdles and the 4x4. She had a difficult day, but was still really good. Jae Moore and Morgan Leffel were solid in the sprints as well."

Leffel recorded a personal-best while taking first in the 400 (1:00.94). She is ranked second in the conference. Moore logged a personal-best in the 200-meters where she finished third (26.95). She is ranked third in the MWC.

Jessica White and Whitney Dider vaulted to a 1-2 finish in the pole vault. White cleared 11’11-3/4" and Dider posted a personal-best 10’0". Didier’s mark moves her to third in the MWC. Megan Clennon tied her personal-best in the high jump with a winning height of 5’3". Sarah Stinson and Heather Hull tied for third in the event. Their mark of 5’1" tied Stinson’s best and was a career mark for Hull. Clennon is ranked first in the conference, Hull and Stinson are ranked tied for fourth.

Gloria Lehr claimed first in the shot put (41’5-3/4") and Tanesha Hughes, competing for the first time this season was third (39’10-1/2"). Hughes’ mark ranks her fourth in the league. The pair threw personal-bests in the weight throw. Hughes was second (46’7-1/2") and Lehr was fourth (45’4-1/2") to move to second and fourth in the league standings. "The women we have in the throws are all doing well," praised Haynes.

Haynes also had praise for Amy Aghababian, who ran a season-best in the 800-meters (2:30.34) and Katie Staab with a personal-best in the 800 (2:25.98). Staab’s time ranks her second in the conference. Peyton Lumzy also recorded a personal-best in the men’s weight throw (46’8-1/4") to finish fourth.

The Scots travel to Jacksonville this weekend for the MWC Indoor Championships.

You know it’s going to be close when even veteran coach Roger Haynes can’t comfortably predict the outcome of this weekend’s Midwest Conference Indoor Track Championships.

The Scots are shooting for their men’s ninth straight and women’s seventh consecutive Midwest Conference indoor track team championships this weekend. Haynes, the 2007 MWC Women’s Coach of the Year, says it won’t be easy for his squad to repeat their respective titles at the conference meet Friday and Saturday at Illinois College. "It looks like this could be one of the closest meets in recent memory," he said. "It looks to be very tight, and especially tight on the women’s side."

Haynes, who last spring was named the Division III men’s national indoor coach of the year by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, knows of what he speaks. During his 24-year coaching career, he has guided the Fighting Scots men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams to a combined 45 conference championships. He has coached five national champions in track and field including three in the last three years.

The veteran coach may have to work his magic at this weekend’s championships in Jacksonville, Ill. The Scots lost six MWC Performers of the Year to graduation, but have reloaded with the return of four All-Americans. The men have been crowned champs at 12 of the last 13 conference meets and hope to continue their dominance behind senior pole-vaulters Peter Sprecher and Jonny Henkins. The duo broke the MWC record last year with the exact same effort (16’9-1/2") and again are tied for the top rank entering this year’s championship meet (16’7-1/2"). Also returning is three-time conference champion Zach Wilson (weight throw (2), shot put) and junior Luke Reschke, who owns the nation’s top time in the 400-meter dash.

The Scots’ women will be led by four returning champions, including the two-time defending weight throw and shot put champ, senior Jenny Babos. Junior Shannon Turczyn, who set the MWC record a year ago (8.43), will also shoot for a three-peat in the 55-meter hurdles. All-American senior Jessica White looks to continue to her legacy as the conference’s top pole vaulter, while classmate Megan Clennon attempts to repeat as the league high jump champion.

Haynes expects stiff competition on the men’s side from Illinois College and St. Norbert. IC returns long jump champion Donald Jackson. The sophomore will also to be a threat to take home titles in the 55-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. Some of Jackson’s biggest competition will come from his own teammates, including sophomore Joe Simmons, who holds the MWC’s second-best effort in the long jump, and senior Antwan Byrd (55m, 200m). The Green Knights boast defending 5,000-meter run champ Jeff Pentek who is also a 3,000-meter run contender in his senior season. Sophomore Paul Leeman enters atop the rankings in the triple jump, a spot he has also held in the high jump as well during this season.

On the women’s side, Haynes says to watch out for Carroll and St. Norbert. Carroll is paced by eight-time conference champion, senior Erin Kelley. Kelley has twice broken the MWC record in the 800-meter dash and mile run. Teammate, junior Melissa Roesch, could three-peat as MWC champion in the 55- and 200-meter dash. St. Norbert junior sprinter Ashley Graybill enters as the favorite in the 200- and 400-meter dashes, while sophomore Jenny Scherer will contend for titles in all three distance events. Senior Melissa Fabry should challenge in the 55-meter hurdles, long jump, and triple jump for St. Norbert.

Haynes, is cautiously optimistic about the Scots chances at defending their team titles. "We’ve improved, but we’ve still got some spots to fill in," he said. "We’ve still got to make some decisions on relays and where to position our distance runners, but I feel better prepared now than a few weeks ago."

Prepared, they are.

Compete, they must.

Defend, they might.

Sophomore Clay Staley (Hanna City, Ill./Illini Bluffs) has been named NCAA Division III cross country academic All-American by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Staley, a two-time all-conference selection, placed second in last fall’s Midwest Conference meet and was fourth his freshman year. The USTFCCCA named the sophomore All-Midwest Region after his 25th place finish in the Oshkosh Regional last November. His time of 25:01 on the 8K course was a Monmouth sophomore record and the third fastest time for a Fighting Scot runner at a regional meet.

A biology major with an eye on a career in medicine, Staley has impressed his coach with his ability to balance athletics and academics. "He has a desire to excel in the classroom and yet has made the time to become an elite distance runner on the conference and NCAA level," said Roger Haynes. "Clay is an outstanding model for the type of student-athlete we hope to attract to Monmouth College. He is a perfect example of someone with a plan and the willingness to follow through when times get tough in either academics or his running. I’m proud of all that Clay has accomplished in his first year and a half at Monmouth College, and look forward with interest to what he will achieve in the years to come."

The USTFCCA annually honors those student-athletes who have excelled both academically and athletically. To be eligible for the award, the student-athlete must maintain a minimum 3.5 grade point average and finish in the top 25 percent of the field at their NCAA regional meet.

The defending Midwest Conference Southern Division champion Monmouth College baseball team has something to prove.

Despite returning the majority of players from last year’s team, including 83 percent of the innings pitched, the Midwest Conference coaches picked the Fighting Scots second behind Illinois College. Coach Roger Sander has guided the Fighting Scots to 11 division titles in 15 years, including last season’s seventh straight, so you can understand why he might be a little miffed at the poll results. "I don’t like being the underdog," he said. "The Cinderella stories are great stories, but how many times does that really happen?"

Sander understands that the Scots may not have the marquee pitchers of the past, but he does have a solid group of eight who will see action. The Scots will build around a group of six juniors – Chris Albanese (Lansing, Ill./Thornton-Fractional South), Matt Bourne (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic), Drew Johnson (North Henderson, Ill./United), Brian Chandler (Athens, Ill./Athens), Matt Tye (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and Chris Schwarz (Moline, Ill./Moline). Two seniors, Ryan Stubler (Crystal Lake, Ill./Prairie Ridge) and Ryan Priola (St. Charles, Ill./East), add even more depth to the rotation.

Big deal, lots of pitchers, but how many do you really need? This isn’t the Major Leagues, right?

Not exactly, but beginning this season, all conference dates will play two, nine inning games, instead of the previous years’ seven and nine inning double-headers. Sander won’t say that little change will favor the Scots’ bullpen, but acknowledges his pitching staff is deep. "Because we have so many quality arms, we may go with more of a Major League mentality," said Sander. "We’ll ask guys to give us five, six or seven good innings and then we’ll go to the pen. We have guys who can get people out, so I have confidence in all our guys."

The defense behind all those pitchers should be pretty solid. The Scots return experience at every position, including junior shortstop Kevin Sashko (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) who enters this season with a 22 game hitting streak. Senior Jake Bice (Colchester, Ill./West Prairie) and his .989 fielding percentage will likely be at first. It could get crowded at second where versatile senior Jake Gustafson (Wyanet, Ill./Bureau Valley) could be the early favorite, but he has company. Junior transfer Jake Virgo (Homewood, Ill./Homewood-Flossmoor), sophomore Tom Shaver (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and freshman Payton Judy (Homer, Ill./Heritage) are waiting in the wings. It’s not so crowded at third, although Sander has three players in the mix. Stubler and Priola are both nursing injuries, so the healthier of the two will handle third, the other will be penciled is as the designated hitter. If neither is healed enough to make the throw from the hot corner, sophomore Brett Peterson (Burlington, Wis./Shoreland Lutheran) will come in from the outfield to handle the position and Stubler would move to left with Priola as the DH. There’s a battle raging behind the plate where junior Nick Basala (Matherville, Ill./Sherrard) has the early nod, but sophomore Chaz Baggio (Bedford Park, Ill./Argo) is "right on his heals."

Currently, four evenly matched outfielders with good speed are battling for three available spots. If Peterson isn’t needed at third, he’ll be in the mix with senior Matt McIntire (Stronghurst, Ill./Southern), junior Brian Wilhelm (Mundelein, Ill./Mundelein) and freshman Billy Herrin (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg). McIntire is the most experienced of the four, playing 26 games last season with 13 starts.

Sander will have more options once a couple of basketball players get into baseball shape. Freshmen pitchers Corey Gruber (Abindgon, Ill./Abingdon) and Robbie Hinkle (Galesburg, Ill./Galesburg) will have just over a week to get ready before the Scots’ first games and Sander expects them to have an impact before the season is over. Gruber could also see time on the infield and Hinkle, who is coming back from an arm injury will likely see action in the outfield before taking the mound. Sander says originally, Hinkle was not expected to pitch this spring, but that decision will be based on his rehab process. "Initially, we were going to wait until next year, but we talked and he might be able to throw some this year," said an optimistic Sander. "If that does happen, it would be late, probably April. Once he’s healthy, he’ll help us in the field and on the mound."

Offensively, Sander believes his team will be able to score some runs, but don’t expect a home run barrage. "We’ll be a power-hitting team, but without the home runs," he predicted. "We’ll hit the ball hard. I think you’ll see a lot of doubles."

Opposing pitchers will face a smaller version of "Murderer’s Row." If they can keep the hot-hitting Sashko off base, and retire whoever is batting No. 2 that day, they’ll have to face a 3-4-5 order of Priola (.359) with team-highs of 39 RBIs and four home runs last season, Stubler (.345, 35 RBIs) and Bice (.375, 27 RBIs). But Sander warns, don’t count the bottom of the order out.

"You never know," said Sander. "Jeremy Kafka was the perfect example of that last year. He came up and had a monster year leading us in hitting (.439) and slugging percentage (.640). We could start five seniors. What if they do what Kafka did? We’d be pretty darn good."

Even if the Scots don’t have that "monster" year, with the entire infield and eight pitchers returning, they will be a solid contender to tie the school record with their eighth straight divisional title and prove their detractors wrong.

In the preseason coaches poll, the Fighting Scots men’s basketball team was picked to finish seventh.

When the dust settled, the Scots were tied for fifth, and save for a bad three game stretch, Monmouth was poised to make their first Midwest Conference tournament appearance since the 1998-99 season. "We wanted to make the playoffs this year," said coach Mark Vershaw. "We thought that was a real possibility. But we had a bad stretch with Ripon and then St. Norbert and Beloit at home."

If the Scots could have beaten tournament-qualifier St. Norbert and then either Ripon or Beloit, Monmouth would have made the post-season. It was close. The loss to the Red Hawks and the Bucs was by a total of 12 points and the Green Knights needed overtime to hand the Scots the loss. Still, the Scots’ first-year coach isn’t disappointed.

"I was really pleased with how we played from the Carroll game on," said Vershaw. "I really appreciated the seniors and their leadership. They helped us build a foundation that will help us in the future."

That future will arrive without three post players. Joe Terwelp, Brett Peurach and Wes Wrage will be lost to graduation. Also finishing their careers are guards Scott Scholten and Bob Hoffman. "You can’t replace a guy like Joe," claimed Vershaw. "For four years, he’s been a tremendous player for this team. It was a joy to be able to coach him for a year."

While the Scots lose three post players, the cupboard won’t be completely bare. Kyle Weyeneth, a player Vershaw says "kept getting better," will return for his senior year and could see more action in the post.

The Scots return a wealth of perimeter players who could spread teams’ defensives out, giving the inside players more opportunities to score. Eric Grant, Corey Gruber, Alex Tanney, Scott Ubbenga and Robbie Hinkle all contributed at different times this season. "I was pleased with them as a group how they continued to improve and develop," said Vershaw of his freshmen guards. "They had a very solid freshman season and had to face some battles early in their careers. They got a lot of experience and hopefully, that will pay off."

Vershaw is upbeat about next season and points to an experienced group of returners. "I feel good about the prospects for next season," he said. "Kyle adds a lot of great leadership, both on and off the court. Over the last few games, Ubbenga showed what he’s capable of when he’s healthy. Our whole team, freshman, sophomores and juniors bring a lot to the table for next season. We’ll be a different type of team without the seniors."

The soft-spoken Vershaw is philosophical about replacing five seniors. "Every year it’s an adjustment," he said. "We feel good about what we have returning and hopefully, we’ll feel good about what we bring in."

A LEAGUE OF HER OWN

Former Scots Co-SID Barry McNamara and Sports Information intern Sarah Kisner contributed to this report.

Senior Ashley Yeast’s record-breaking rebounding performance and her pursuit of establishing the Scots’ first-ever 1,000 points/1,000 rebounds club has been well documented, but did you know –

Yeast wrapped up her athletic career at Monmouth as perhaps the only athlete to go undefeated against Knox in a team sport 13 times. Yeast told Dustin Looney of the Courier student newspaper, "I haven’t lost to Knox for four years in basketball or volleyball…never losing to Knox is pretty cool."

In volleyball, the Scots never lost even a set to the Fire during Yeast’s career. Yeast posted a .324 hitting percentage with just two hitting errors in those matches. On the basketball court, Monmouth’s margin of victory averaged 17 points. The senior posted Monmouth’s women’s single game rebounding record (21) against the Fire and averaged 11.3 points and 13.1 rebounds in the eight games.

Yeast’s volleyball coach, Kari Shimmin ’97, can boast nearly as impressive win-loss percentages against our rivals to the east. In 27 matches as a player and a coach, Shimmin has lost to Knox on the volleyball courts only once. Shimmin, who guided the Scots softball program from 2005-07, suffered one loss in seven games vs. the Fire. That brings Shimmin’s two-sport record vs. Knox to an amazing 34-2, or a .944 winning percentage.

While there may be others, Scots Scoop couldn’t recollect any other multiple sport athletes to have such an impressive four year unbeaten record against Knox. Know of one? Let Scots Scoop know and we may include in it a future addition.

HEY REF! WHY DON’T YOU TAKE UP GOLF?

The following feature on MC golfer Jake Kilberg was contributed by Sport Information independent study student Taran Jozefiak.

If Fighting Scots junior golfer Jake Kilberg (Rock Falls, Ill./Rock Falls) schedule isn’t busy enough with a full schedule of classes throughout the day and practice in the afternoon, at night he is off to officiate high school and junior college basketball games.

Officiating basketball games may seem like quite a job for a college student, but considering golfers must enforce the rules of the game on themselves while on the links, becoming a basketball official is a natural fit for Kilberg. At the age of 21, he is the youngest certified official in the state of Illinois. "It’s hard to referee kids that are only one or two years younger than me," stated Kilberg.

Kilberg started refereeing games at the age of 14 and became licensed at the age of 17. Throughout his junior and senior years in high school, he worked with his uncle refereeing basketball games. At the beginning of his freshman year at Monmouth College, Kilberg joined the Galesburg Area Officials Association and for the past 5 years has been working games with veteran officials Joe Thompson and Clee Stanley.

November to February is a very busy time for Kilberg but that hasn’t hurt his studies. "Balancing school and refereeing games, it gets tough, but I still keep up the 3.0 average," claimed Kilberg.

Fri., Feb. 29

Indoor Track & Field – MWC Championships at Jacksonville, Ill. – 10:30 am

“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” – Babe Ruth