Monmouth remains title town in terms of track & field in the Midwest Conference, as the Fighting Scots closed out the 2008 Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships with two more team trophies. The Scots’ men and women extended their respective title streaks to eight and four in a row close to home, as Knox played host to the event on May 9 and 10.
Monmouth’s men now have 20 team championships overall, while the women upped their grand total to 12.
Leading the way for Monmouth on Saturday were throw champions Zach Wilson (discus, hammer throw) and Tanesha Hughes (shot put), who upped their weekend total to three titles apiece. Megan Clennon added her second championship of the weekend with a victory in the javelin, while Shannon Turczyn (100m hurdles), Luke Reschke (400m) and Brad Gross (400m hurdles) all repeated as champs in their respective events. Turczyn also added a new meet record in the 100-meter hurdle prelims with a time of 14.79. Clay Staley followed graduated teammate Zach Barr as the champ in the steeple chase, while Morgan Leffel earned a title in the triple jump. The Monmouth men closed their day by winning the 4x400 relay.
St. Norbert enjoyed a big day on the track, as Jenny Scherer (Steeplechase) and Jeff Pentek (5,000m) each won their second titles of the weekend. Scherer set a new record in the steeplechase (11:15.59), as did teammate Ashley Graybill in the 400-meter dash (56.32). Graybill also captured the gold in the 200-meter dash and ran a leg on the Green Knights’ winning 4x400 relay team. Marisa Trakanovich rounded out the school’s Saturday winners with a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles.
Carroll swept the 100-meter dash events, as Josh Hurlebaus was crowned the men’s champ and Melissa Roesch the women’s. Roesch also helped the Lady Pioneer 4x100 relay team to a championship, as did 800-meter run champion Erin Kelley, who won the 800m for the fourth time in her career. Justin Troeller won the 110-meter hurdles to round out the day for Carroll and help the Pioneer men place fourth.
Illinois College’s men won four events en route to a second-place team finish, as D.J. Jackson (200m) and Dink Simmons (triple jump) each won individual titles, before helping the Blueboys 4x100 relay team win gold. Dillon Binkley picked up the fourth crown with a victory in the high jump.
Knox and Grinnell each captured an individual event title on Saturday as well, as Tim Rairdon won the 800-meter run for the Prairie Fire and Allison Louthan paced the field for the Pioneer women in the 5,000-meter run.
Monmouth Men & Women Dominate Field Events, Open Up Day One Leads
The first day of action (May 9) at the 2008 Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships belonged to the men and women of Monmouth, who entered the meet on the Galesburg, Illinois campus of Knox College having won seven and three straight league titles, respectively.
Monmouth captured gold in eight of the 13 events contested on Friday, including a record-setting sweep of the pole vault, where seniors Jessica White (12’06.25) and Jonny Henkins (17’00.25”) both set new conference championship meet records en route to their victories. Tanesha Hughes captured a pair of first-place finishes for the Scots, winning the discus and hammer throw (145’00.00”), which included an MWC-record effort in the latter. Zach Wilson (shot put), Megan Clennon (high jump) and Dan Higgins (javelin) rounded out the Scots day one field event winners, while Aaron Etienne came away victorious in the men’s 1,500-meter run.
The women’s edition of the 1,500m saw Amanda Hammermeister of Beloit win her first career outdoor title, while St. Norbert’s Jeff Pentek and Jenny Scherer gave the Green Knight an event sweep of their own in the 10,000-meter run.
Pam Bell of Knox and Dink Simmons of Illinois College rounded out the day one champions, as each took home the title in their respective long jump field.
Monmouth’s men tallied 74 points on Friday and hold a 34-point advantage over second-place Grinnell, while the Scot women scored 94 points and lead Carroll by 46.
Monmouth Men & Women Look To Extend Track Title Streaks In Galesburg
The 86th edition of the Midwest Conference’s oldest competition will unfold on Friday and Saturday, May 9-10 when Knox College hosts the 2008 Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on its campus in Galesburg, Illinois. The first MWC men’s outdoor track & field championships were contested in 1921 and the event has run every season since, minus war exceptions in 1944 and 1945. Monmouth remains the standard in the conference, as the Fighting Scot men and women have combined to win 21 of the 26 track titles contested since 1995. Roger Haynes’ (right) Monmouth men boast the past two NCAA National Champion pole vaulters in 2008 after senior Peter Sprecher won the event at the 2007 outdoor meet and senior Jonny Henkins topped the field at the 2008 indoor nationals.
St. Norbert College athletics director Tim Bald has announced the hiring of Don Augustine as head men’s and women’s track & field coach. Augustine arrives in De Pere after being the head men’s and women’s track & field coach for four years at Westminster College, an NCAA Division III school located in New Wilmington, Pa.
During Augustine’s tenure at Westminster, the Titans qualified their first two athletes to the NCAA Division III national track & field meet. A 2001 Westminster graduate, Augustine was a standout middle-distance runner on the track as well as a two-year starter at linebacker on the football team. Augustine earned his master’s degree from Temple University and was a graduate assistant in football for the Owls during the 2002-2003 school year.
Knox Announces Duo Will Lead Track & Field Programs
Patrick Irwin (right) and Dan Zierfuss (left) were named co-head track & field coaches at Knox on June 18. Irwin was also named the head cross country coach, while Zierfuss will assist the Prairie Fire football team.
Irwin is familiar with Knox after serving as an assistant coach with the Prairie Fire cross country and track & field teams last season. He also was the assistant girl’s track coach at Solon ( Iowa) High School in the spring of 2006. A four-year letter winner at Cornell College ( Iowa) in cross country and track & field, Irwin will primarily work with the distance runners. The Monmouth, Illinois, native earned a degree in Secondary Education and Physical Education from Cornell in 2006.
Zierfuss, who will primarily focus on coaching the throwing events, was a graduate assistant coach at Carroll last season, where he coached the school record-holders in both the men’s and women’s hammer throw. In 2005-06, Zierfuss served as an assistant football and assistant track and field coach at Beloit.
Zierfuss, who earned his degree in Psychology from Beloit in 2005, was a captain for both the football and track & field teams as an undergraduate. He was an MWC Academic All-Conference selection from 2002-05.
In addition, Knox assistant football coach Cory Bonstead will also assist the track and field teams in the spring, focusing on the jumping events.
competition will unfold on Friday and Saturday, May 9-10 when Knox College hosts the 2008 Midwest Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on its campus in Galesburg, Illinois. The first MWC men’s outdoor track & field championships were contested in 1921 and the event has run every season since, minus war exceptions in 1944 and 1945. Monmouth remains the standard in the conference, as the Fighting Scot men and women have combined to win 21 of the 26 track titles contested since 1995. Roger Haynes’ 
announced the hiring of Don Augustine as head men’s and women’s track & field coach. Augustine arrives in De Pere after being the head men’s and women’s track & field coach for four years at Westminster College, an NCAA Division III school located in New Wilmington, Pa. 
head track & field coaches at Knox on June 18. Irwin was also named the head cross country coach, while Zierfuss will assist the Prairie Fire football team. 
the Prairie Fire cross country and track & field teams last season. He also was the assistant girl’s track coach at Solon ( Iowa) High School in the spring of 2006. A four-year letter winner at Cornell College ( Iowa) in cross country and track & field, Irwin will primarily work with the distance runners. The Monmouth, Illinois, native earned a degree in Secondary Education and Physical Education from Cornell in 2006.