CHAMPIONS – 4, RECORDS – 17

The swim team may not have won the Midwest Conference Swimming and Diving Championships last weekend in Grinnell, Iowa, but they did crown four individual champions and break 17 school records en route to the men’s third consecutive second-place finish and the women’s second straight fifth-place finish.

“I can’t think of a better way to go out,” said interim coach Dave Yez whose women were just 80 points out of second place with their highest point total in history. “In the past, we were very slow to start at the conference meet, but this year we got out to a fast start and continued that all three days. We picked up more hardware in the first day than ever before. Our success at the conference meet was a culmination of a lot of things.”

One of those “things” was the performance of some exceptional youth. All three swimmers who collected the four championships for the Scots at the three-day meet were freshmen.

Andrew Wright (Quincy, Ill./Quincy) brought home two league crowns. On Friday, Wright swam a personal-best to win the 500-yard freestyle by just under three seconds (4:47.11). The freestyle specialist then took first in the 1650- on Sunday afternoon. He swam a school record (16:38.09) to win by 12 seconds.

Sandwiched in between Wright’s titles was Josh Dunn’s (Brookfield, Ill./Lyons Township) winning performance in the 200- freestyle Saturday night. Dunn swam a school record (1:45.21), breaking assistant coach Kurt Niemeier’s record, out-touching Wright at the finish by a mere eight-tenths of a second. Joe Testolin was fourth, four seconds back.

“Josh likes to toy with his opponents,” said Yez. “He told me after the 200- prelims that he had a lot left in the tank.”

Krysta Sparks (Montrose, Colo./Montrose) became only the second woman in Fighting Scots’ history to win a conference crown – Anne Lane picked up two titles last season. Sparks broke her own school record by two full seconds in winning the 200- breaststroke (2:28.32). The time was also a Grinnell pool record. She also swam a school record in the 100- breaststroke (1:08.37) to place second and her 200- individual medley time (2:16.35) for third was also a school record.

“The kids were tired, but really focused,” praised Yez. “Krysta was a good example of how focused they were. She was REALLY focused on the 200- breaststroke. Our preparation for the weekend was 90 percent mental. Physically, they were ready and Kurt had the taper just perfect. It’s a delicate thing. You have to get it just right and Kurt sure did that.”

The taper Yez referred to – the art of lessening the mileage of the workouts in order to let the body recuperate and therefore be at maximum strength – resulted in a record number of records. During the regular season, only one swimmer – Sparks – set a new record, but that wasn’t the case last weekend.

Harrison Heilman set two new marks, setting the new high mark with a third-place time in the 200- IM (2:03.24) and posting the new standard with a second-place time in the 400- IM (4:28.59).

Dunn led the charge in the 100- backstroke for the men, taking third while setting a school record time by just .01 seconds (55.19). Heilman was fifth and Joe Testolin was sixth.

While the men were setting six new records, the women replaced 11 top times. Rachel Holm set the new Scots’ standard in the 100- butterfly where she was second (1:01.19) and in the 50- freestyle (25.83), placing third. She just missed the school mark in the 200- butterfly to place second. Her time (2:14.94) was just .04 off the school record.

Rachel Buckham clocked a Scots’ record in the 200- backstroke where she was second (2:16.97). She took third in the 100- backstroke and eighth in the 500- freestyle.

“Rachel really came on,” reported Yez of Buckham’s season. “Once we moved her out of the 1650- and into the 100- backstroke, she really took off.”

The relay teams had their share of record-setting performances. The women’s 200- freestyle relay team of Buckham, Holm, Jaime Schingoethe and Colleen Zumpf set the new time to beat (1:44.77) while finishing fourth. Sparks joined Buckham, Holm and Zumpf on the record-setting 400- medley relay (4:13.06) to take third. That foursome also set the new school mark in the 200- medley relay (1:55.25), placing third. Kendra Kuehl hooked up with Buckham, Schingoethe and Sparks for a school record in the 800- freestyle relay (8:33.56) where they picked up fifth-place. The 400- freestyle relay of Holm, Zumpf, Buckham and Kuehl captured another fifth and another record (3:51.82).

The men set one record in the relays. The foursome of Dunn, John Kaiser, Steve Collins and Tom Pederson swam a school record in the 200- freestyle relay (1:28.68) to place second.

If not for a clerical error, the men would have taken another second in the 800- freestyle relay. The error resulted in the next-day disqualification of what had been the Scots second-place relay.

“We have two Joshes on the team (Dunn and Van Swol) and the heat sheet listed the wrong one in that relay,” said Yez. “Kurt caught it and we reported as soon as we discovered it. The end result was we lost those points, but it was the right thing to do.”

The Scots still had plenty of scoring swims the rest of the weekend. The 400- medley relay team of Dunn, Kaiser, Kevin Satler and Collins were in second place, less than a second off the winning time. Pederson joined Dunn, Satler and Kaiser in swimming to a third-place finish in the 200- medley relay and the 400- freestyle team of Dunn, Collins, Wright and Kaiser finished in third.

Diver Jack Clifford recorded a career-best in the diving well. The junior placed third in the 1-meter, 11-dive competition with 349.95 points, just missing the runner up spot by less than 30 points.

The men also had some near misses in the individual swimming events. Dunn was out-touched at the finish to place second in the 100- freestyle. Josh Van Swol just missed winning the 200- backstroke. His second place time (2:03.12) was just two seconds off the winning pace. Satler took second in the 200- breaststroke and his swim in the 100- breaststroke placed him seventh.

Kaiser picked up thirds in the 100- and 200- butterfly. Collins took third in the 400- IM and was fifth in the 200- IM where Kaiser finished seventh. Pederson recorded a fifth-place in the 50- freestyle. Testolin and Jim Travnik finished 7-8 in the 500- freestyle. Ed Novak and Travnik were 7-8 in the 1650- freestyle.

Rounding out the women’s marquee performances were: Zumpf, fifth in the 100- breaststroke; Kuehl, seventh in the 200- IM; and Schingoethe a seventh-place finish in the 200- freestyle.

“Lauren Nelson is kind of our unsung hero,” said Yez who pointed to non-swimming issues as a reason for the team’s success. “She did a tremendous job as captain to make sure our young swimmers were ready. The entire team bought into our philosophy of accountability and character – both in and out of the athletic arena.”

Let’s see…four conference champions, 17 new school records and developing good citizens.

Yep, the Scoop thinks Yez could call his only season at the helm a success.

BASIC MATH

For Melissa Bittner’s women’s basketball team, it’s simple math: 1 loss = 0 conference playoff berths.

Unfortunately for the Scots, they completed the aforementioned formula last night in a 77-68 loss to Lake Forest. The Foresters put together a 9-0 run late in the first half and finished the half with a 7-0 run to put the Scots in a 20-point hole. The Scots came back in the second half, outscoring the Foresters 44-33, and cutting the deficit to single digits on Tanesha Hughes’ traditional 3-point play with 1:25 left, but couldn’t quite make up enough ground. LFC hit just enough free throws in the final minute – 4-of-8 – to keep the Scots at bay.

The loss, despite Hughes’ 10^th double-double of the season (29 points, 14 rebounds), dropped the Scots into a tie for fifth in the Midwest Conference. No tie-breaking scenario would put Monmouth in the playoffs and they have just one game left.

“The mentality for both teams was that this game was for a playoff berth,” reported Bittner. “Grinnell’s win over Illinois College last week really simplified the process. Win our final two games and we would have been in.”

After the Scots downed Illinois College 69-65 last week, they controlled their own destiny and Grinnell’s 59-54 upset of IC on Feb. 14 was the best Valentine’s Day gift the Scots could have received. The Pioneer win bumped the Lady Blues below the Scots in the standings, making for a three-way tie for fourth between the Scots, Carroll and Lake Forest. Lake Forest’s win last night coupled with a Carroll loss to Ripon gives the Foresters sole possession of the fourth spot entering Saturday’s road game at IC.

The Scots played like a team possessed against Illinois College last week, going on a 15-0 run to close out the first half last to take a 32-25 lead. Monmouth increased the lead to as many as 12 before the Lady Blues closed in and pulled within one with 17 seconds left.

Foul time for IC.

If the Scots could pick one person to shoot the crunch-time free throws it would be Melissa Gorski, a 79 percent free throw shooter. Illinois College cooperated and Gorski nailed three of her four free throws to clinch the game.

“We’d actually been in the playoff mode for a few games,” said Bittner of her team’s knowledge that a loss would knock them out of the postseason. “Of course our women played high school ball where one loss in the postseason ends the year, so they were prepared for the pressure of each game. Our seniors stepped up and everyone played with a lot of confidence.”

With the playoff berth gone, Bittner expects a lot of emotion and intensity for Saturday’s regular season finisher with Grinnell.

“It’s Senior Day,” said Bittner. “Our seniors have meant so much to our program. They’ve been huge difference-makers for us, especially down the stretch. It’s a big game Saturday, but we’ve tried to keep everyone relaxed this week.”

But not too relaxed. The Pioneers use a similar version of their men’s “System” with massive substitutions and copious 3-point attempts.

“They live by the three and die by the three,” said Bittner. “They can really heat up fast. If Grinnell hits a few threes, a 10-point lead can evaporate in a hurry. Of course every team wants to win their last home game for their seniors.”

In addition to the senior recognition, the Scots will sell ice cream and beads on the Huff Athletic Center concourse as part of the WBCA’s Pink Zone initiative to raise breast cancer awareness. Proceeds of the sales will benefit cancer research.

COMING AROUND

The track teams answered coach Roger Haynes’ challenge to improve their performances leading up to the conference championships with four provisional qualifying marks – including the third-best performance in the nation – and a school record as the men finished second and the women third at last weekend’s nine-team Fighting Scot Invitational.

“Overall, it was a great meet,” said Haynes. “It was a good blend of quality schools, and a lot of really talented national-caliber kids.”

Not all those “national-caliber kids” were visiting athletes.

The Scots’ 4x400 relay team logged the third-fastest time in the nation Saturday. Jacob Stott, Logan Hohl, Shane Reschke and Luke Reschke won the event with a provisional-qualifying time while improving their league-leading time and setting the track record (3:19.82). The time is less than two seconds off the nation’s top time.

“That was certainly a quality race,” said Haynes. “We faced the national-type competition and the guys rose to the occasion. They ran well, but they can run faster.”

In his first hurdle event this season, Hohl not only won the 55-meter hurdles with the conference’s top time, his winning time (7.61) equaled both the track record and his personal-best while qualifying him provisionally for next month’s NCAA Indoor National Championships. The coaching staff had the sophomore hurdler in a training program while recuperating from an injury sustained last season.

“Logan is that talented of a guy,” explained Haynes of his hurdles success in his season debut. “The plan was to train him before he actually raced in the hurdles. Logan and Coach (Dennis) Staggs have done a good job of getting him ready. He’s got some work to do on his hurdle technique, but he’s a talented sprinter and the hurdle technique will come around. We feel like we’ve got time for him to improve in that area.”

Hohl’s relay teammates did well in their individual races. Luke Reschke also took first in the 400- (50.00) just in front of Stott in second (50.27). Ryan Hardman placed eighth in the 400- (51.96).

In the 200-, Hohl placed third (22.73), Saidu Sesay was fifth (23.19) and Kyle Prout took seventh (23.22). Geoff Bird finished sixth in the 3000- (9:13.77) and Damon Bautista clocked a conference and personal-best to finish seventh in the 800- (1:58.99).

“Geoff has put himself in good position in the conference,” praised Haynes. “Jon Welty also ran well in the mile with a lifetime best (4:36.36).”

Sean Wells and Tyler Hannam finished 1-2 in the high jump after each cleared identical heights (6’6). Matt Hassler placed sixth (6’3-1/2). Brock McAnally tied for third in the pole vault (14’5-1/4). Jeremy Henkins, the brother of two-time national pole vault champion Jonny Henkins, cleared a personal-best in the vault (12’5-1/2). Jeremy trails his big brother by 4’, but still has three years to gain ground…uh, we mean height.

Nick Wright scored in the triple jump and long jump. He was fourth in the long jump (21’1-1/2) and tied for sixth in the triple jump (42’11-3/4).

“Nick is having a really good year,” praised Haynes of his junior jumper. “It’s his first year out for track, so what he’s been able to do is outstanding.”

Michael Blodgett finished just back of Wright in the long jump (20’8-1/2) and Patrick McNeil was seventh (20’3-3/4).

Sam Cokinos led three scorers in the shot put, placing fourth, improving his conference-leading distance with a personal-best mark (48’11-1/2). Peyton Lumzy placed sixth (48’2) and Paul Terpening was eighth (44’3-1/4). Lumzy also took fifth in the weight throw (47’5-3/4).

Gloria Lehr improved her conference-best mark in the women’s shot put, winning the event while throwing a school record and provisional qualifying distance (43’4-1/2). Tanesha Hughes, competing for the first time this season, was second (40’2). Lehr also took second in the weight throw (47’10-3/4) where Amanda Streeter was fifth (46’5-1/4) and Hughes was sixth (45’4-1/2). Maureen Dewan logged a personal-best in the weight throw (44’4-1/4) to just miss a scoring spot in ninth.

Shannon Turczyn clocked a provisional time and improved her conference-best time in the prelims of the 55- hurdles (8.49). She placed third in the finals (8.57) and was sixth in the 200- (27.48). Katie Vaccarello posted a lifetime best in the 55- hurdle prelims (9.22) and just missed scoring in the finals where she finished ninth.

Jae Moore had another “outstanding” day, clocking two personal-bests in the sprints. Moore took third in the 200- (26.83) and fourth in the 55-meter dash (7.46). Moore also hit a personal-best in the triple jump to place sixth (33’10).

Brittany Lowdermilk took fifth in the 55- (7.62). Kaci Lierman ran to a fourth-place finish in the 400- (1:01.87).

The Scots distance runners continued a solid season, placing two in scoring position in the mile. Mary Kate Beyer (5:18.77) and Katie Staab (5:25.33) each clocked personal-bests to place fourth and seventh, respectively. Staab also ran a career-best to finish third in the 3000- (11:02.68).

“Katie ran very well on a double distance day,” said Haynes of Staab’s two distance races in one afternoon. “Running two lifetime bests like that is the result of getting herself in excellent shape.”

In the pole vault, Megan McKenna took fourth and Whitney Didier was sixth when each cleared the same mark (10-10). Heather Hull tied for fifth and Sarah Stinson was eighth in the high jump after each cleared identical heights (4’11-1/2). Morgan Leffel placed eighth in the triple jump (32’7-1/2).

“We’re improving, but we need to make a bigger jump,” said Haynes as the team prepares for the MWC championships next weekend. “We’ve got to give ourselves an opportunity to have everything come together at the right time.”

The Scots travel to Wartburg Saturday for their final competition before hosting next week’s Midwest Conference Indoor Championships.

POLL POSITION

The men’s and women’s track teams have made their debut in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) power rankings.

In Wednesday’s rankings, the Fighting Scots women were ranked in the No. 22 spot. The men entered the rankings 24th. The rankings, which compares teams based on performances during the current season, is released weekly by the USTFCCA.

Regionally, the Scots men, with 125.12 points, are ranked ninth in the NCAA’s Midwest region, less than 25 points from the top spot. Monmouth’s women were 10th in their region with 119.03 points, less than 10 points from cracking the top 10.

IT’S STILL EARLY

There are two upsides to the men’s tennis team’s split with Carthage and Concordia (Wis.) last weekend – 1) the conference season is still a month away, and 2) the lineup is not set in stone.

Actually, there are probably more than two positives to come out of the weekend.

“We picked up our first point, ever, against Carthage,” said coach Chad Braun. “Some of the guys stepped up and we made some improvements. We’ll tweak the lineup just a bit until we find just the right combination in doubles.”

The Scots can thank Sam Graf and Tyler Lampe for picking up the team’s first point against Carthage. Playing at No. 3 doubles, Graf and Lampe posted an 8-4 win.

“Sam and Tyler played awfully tough,” said Braun. “It was nice that we could finally break through and get a point from Carthage.”

Eric Brandhorst nearly picked up a second point from Carthage. The senior fell at No. 3 singles 7-5, 3-6, 7-10 in a heartbreaker. Tied 7-7, Brandhorst couldn’t quite get the one break to pull out a win, but it was still a productive match.

“That was one of the best matches I’ve seen Eric play since he’s been here,” said Braun. “He was outstanding and played well enough to win.”

Last Saturday’s double-header opened on a high note with a 5-4 win over Concordia. Graf and Lampe cruised to an 8-0 win at No. 3 singles for the Scots’ only doubles point. It was a case of missed opportunities in the No. 1 double slot. Kyle Korb and Chris Utterback dropped a 9-8 (7-4) decision causing a bit of a concern for Braun.

“We came out of the doubles competition down 2-1,” said Braun. “I was a little worried because I feel like we’re better at doubles than singles, but the guys knew they had to pull out some singles wins and they got the job done.”

Korb, Graf and Brandhorst went to work and swept the top three singles spots to make Braun breathe a bit easier. Lampe picked up a 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) win at No. 5 singles to help the Scots squeeze out the win.

Lampe’s win was huge, but equally amazing was Brandhorst’s 6-4, 7-5 win at No. 3. Trailing 5-2 in the second set, Brandhorst battled back with five straight wins to take the set and post the victory.

“That was huge for Eric to come back and get the win,” said Braun. “He could have just rolled over and gone to the tiebreaker, but instead he fought back and got the win. Tyler was playing hurt and gutted it out to get a huge win at No. 5. We had to fight, scratch and claw to get the win.”

Ben Morrow started strong, but got into trouble in the second set. After winning the first set 7-6 (7-4), he succumbed 1-6, 2-10 in the last two sets at No. 6.  

“Graf, Lampe and Brandhorst really played well last weekend,” praised Braun. “Korb also played pretty well and we’re hoping Morrow can develop into an automatic at No. 6. We’re coming around, but there’s still a long way to go. We’ll tweak the doubles a bit this weekend to try and be a little more productive.”

The Scots won’t have a cakewalk this weekend, either. St. Ambrose beat Monmouth 8-1 last season and will bring a “very similar” team to the Huff Athletic Center this Saturday.

“We lost some close matches last year that could have gone the other way,” said Braun.

The stats support Braun’s claim. The Scots lost all three singles matches that went to a third set and one doubles match was dropped 8-6.

“We’re going to have to win those close matches this year,” claimed Braun. “We’re capable of winning if we play at a higher level. If we don’t, they’ll beat us. It’s that simple.” 

BUILDING BLOCKS

The men’s basketball team entered the 2008-09 campaign with more than half their team comprised of freshmen and transfers, so you could understand Mark Vershaw had his work cut out for him with his first true recruiting class.

The Scots have battled in every game, but more often than not, dug a hole early and then couldn’t quite get over the hump to pull out a victory. That was the case last week in a 76-69 loss at Illinois College.

“That game was typical of our season,” reported Vershaw. “We tend to like to give teams a lead and then have to fight our way back into it. When you’re always doing that, you expend a lot of energy and that hurts down the stretch.”

The Scots spotted the Blue Boys a 10-point lead early in the first half, only to come back and take their first lead of the game on David Milroy’s 3-pointer with 4:39 left in the half.  The Scots entered the locker room tied at 36-36 when Corey Gruber’s bucket just before intermission closed out the first half scoring.

The second half played out much like the first, IC built a nine point lead in the first four minutes before the Scots came roaring back. Milroy’s two free throws midway through the half tied it, but the Scots could never regain the lead despite Alex Tanney’s 20 points that included connecting on five of his six 3-pointers and Corey Turner’s 14 points.

“We weren’t very effective against their zone in the second half,” said Vershaw. “We still had opportunities down the stretch. The thing we can take away from that game is we still had a chance to win it.”

The Scots did anything but give the Foresters a big lead in a 71-60 win over Lake Forest last night. Monmouth caught fire in the first half, connecting on nearly 60 percent of their shots and went on an 18-0 run to jump out to a 45-21 halftime lead. Robbie Hinkle started it with a 3-pointer and the sophomore made the last basket of the run with a layup for five of his 11 points.

Lake Forest climbed back to within single digits midway through the second half, but the Scots kept them from getting closer than nine points. Gruber and Tanney each went 2-for-2 from the line in the final minute to hold off the Foresters. Kyle Weyeneth led the Scots with 13 points while freshmen Curtis Oler and Cory Bishop made the most of their chances, adding 11 each.

“Lake Forest was young and very hungry,” said Vershaw. “We knew we would face a very motivated team. They’re a lot like us in that they want to finish the season strong.”

The Scots host Grinnell for their season finale Saturday and are hoping for the magic they discovered in upsetting then-11^th ranked St. Norbert three weeks ago.

“If the season had ended after the St. Norbert game, I would have been very pleased with our play this season,” said Vershaw. “After that game we reverted back to what we were doing wrong in the first part of the season. Last year, we played our best basketball in the last six or seven games. That’s not been the case this year. We got the win last night and now we need to be competitive Saturday. Then, I’ll say we’ve ended on a positive note for next year.”

Grinnell has already locked up one of the four conference playoff berths, joining St. Norbert, Carroll and Lawrence. Grinnell, St. Norbert and Lawrence are tied for the league lead meaning the Pioneers still have plenty to play for when they visit Glennie Gym Saturday afternoon.

“Grinnell will be fired up,” claimed Vershaw. “They’re playing for a conference title and a chance to host. They have very good personnel for their system. We know they’ll be ready, so this will be a good test for us to go out there and play a good 40 minutes. We’ll have to cover their corner shooters, which we didn’t do in the first half last time.”

Monmouth played nearly even with the Pioneers in the second half, hitting more than 54 percent of their shots and holding Grinnell to just 33 percent. Grinnell did win the second half scoring battle, 47-42, but that was still a big improvement after being down by 38 at the half.

When the Scots talk improvement, Tanney and Hinkle come to mind.

“Alex and Robbie have both come on strong as of late,” said Vershaw. “Kyle (Weyeneth) has been very consistent since the day he stepped foot on campus. I’ve also been pleased with the freshmen’s progress. Guys like Milroy and (Austin) Weishaupt are going to have opportunities. We’re progressing, we just need to be competitive Saturday to have a good finish to the season and build on that for next year.”

NOTEWORTHY PERFORMANCES

Competing against national-caliber competition at last weekend’s Fighting Scot Invitational at Monmouth College, Logan Hohl (Orion, Ill./Orion) and Gloria Lehr (Knoxville, Ill./Knoxville) had record performances and earned Midwest Conference Performer of the Week honors.

Hohl had the best meet of his season and was named the MWC Performer of the Week in men’s track. The sophomore teamed with Luke Reschke, Jacob Stott and Shane Reschke to run the nation’s third-fastest time in the 4x400 relay, winning the event in 3:19.82. The provisional-qualifying time was also a Huff Athletic Center record. Earlier in the day, he ran the 55-meter hurdles for the first time this season, winning the event in with a provisional time of 7.61. The time was also a track record and a lifetime best for Hohl.

Lehr, a junior thrower, keeps getting better each week and earned the Performer of the Week in women’s field events. Lehr improved her conference-leading shot put mark, winning the event with a provisional-qualifying and school record throw of 43’4-1/2”. She also took second in the weight throw with a heave of 47’10-3/4”.

WEBCASTS REMINDER

A reminder for fans not able to attend Fighting Scots basketball games in person may watch the action on their computer by logging on to www.midwestconference.tv for live action with video and audio. The feeds are free.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Sat., Feb. 21
Men’s Tennis – hosts St. Ambrose, 10:00 am
Track – at Wartburg Invitational, 10:30 am
Women’s Basketball – hosts Grinnell, 1:00 pm
Men’s Basketball – hosts Grinnell, 3:00 pm 

SCOTSIVATIONAL

“I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.” – Abraham Lincoln