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RIPON, Wis. – Illinois College will serve as host to the 2012 Indoor Track and Field Championships which takes place Friday, February 24 through Saturday, February 25 at the King Field House in Jacksonville, Ill. The events will kick off at 3 p.m. on Friday and are set to start at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.
Beloit finished seventh on the women’s side and eighth on the men’s in 2011 but bring a strong team to Jacksonville for the 2012 championships. On the men’s side Myles Schneider has top-five throws in both the shot put (44’06.25”) and the weight throw (47’00.75”) while Ken Williams will contend in the high jump with the seventh-best mark in the conference this season (6’00.00”).Terrence Steward will compete in the sprint events and ran the 10th fastest time in the 60-meter dash this season (7.28). Lauren Hall (800-dash, 3000-run) and Karen Jones (mile, 5000-run) are the Buccaneers top distance runners on the women’s side while Amani Edwards and Elizabeth Peckham will lead the Bucs in the field events. Edwards holds top-five marks in both the weight throw (fourth, 46’07”) and shot put (fifth, 41’03”) with Peckham posting the fourth-best pole vault mark at 9’01.50.
Carroll knocked on the door last season and will aim to move up after third (women) and fourth (men) place finishes in 2011. Joe Pliner returns to defend his 3000-meter run championship and held the top time in that event this season (8:46.66). Pliner also holds the league’s top time in the mile (4:20.56) while LJ Hyland ran top-five times in both the 60- (second, 7.09) and 200-meter dash (third, 22.60). Carroll also defends its 4x400 relay championship and holds the second fastest time in the event this season. 2011 All-American Lindsay Gruenke won gold in both the 200 and 400-meter dash in 2011 and has the top time in the league in the 400- while teammate Megan O’Grady has a conference-best time in the 3000 (10:15.98) and 5000-meter runs (17:40.29). Jessica Wiegert holds top marks in the pole vault (10’07.50”) and will be joined in the field events by Corissa Meyers in the long jump (fifth, 16’07.25”) and triple jump (fourth, 35’06.75”).
After finishing sixth and fifth in the men’s and women’s championships last year, respectively, the Pioneers look for their first team championship on either side since 1994. Benjamin Tyler tops the Grinnell charts in both the mile (4:36.30) and 3000-meter run (8:59.63) with his time in the 3000 ranking fifth in the MWC. Jake Lindstrom enters the championships with the sixth best mark in the pole vault (13’05.50”) while Sam Krauth has top-15 times in both the 800- (2:03.09) and mile (4:29.78). Hannah Colter tops the women’s performers with top-10 times in both the 3000- (seventh, 10:57.67) and 5000-meter runs (sixth, 18:53.38) while Christine Ajinjeru has the sixth-best time in the 400-meter dash (1:01.92). Sachiko Graber leads Grinnell in the pole vault (sixth, 9’06.25”) while Eloise Miller will contend in the triple jump with the conference’s second best jump this season (36’10.50”).
The Illinois C. men will try to improve on a fifth place finish from last season and will be led by a strong core this season. Josiah Norville tops the Blueboys in the track events holding top-six times in both the 60- dash (sixth, 7.18) and the 60-hurdles (first, 8.35) with Tim Southerland leading the team in the 3000 (9:27.77) and 5000-meter runs (17:20.44). Caleb Cox has the fourth best high jump mark (6’02.75”) and second best long jump (22’01.75”) this season to headline the field participants. The women will be lead by 2011 All-American Missy Norville. Norville was named All-American in the 55-meter hurdles (now 60-hurdles), triple jump and long jump and leads the MWC in all three events this season. Megan Stringer ranks sixth in both the high jump (5’01.50”) and long jump (19’00.75”) to strengthen the Lady Blues after a fourth place finish last year.
Knox aims to improve on a disappointing finish in the 2011 championships after a ninth place finish from the men and an eighth place finish from the women. On the men’s side Joe Puntoriero has three top-10 times this season led by a seventh place mark in the 200-meter dash (22.94) and a pair of top-12 times in the 60- (12th, 7.31) and 400-meter dashes (10th, 52.48). Kevin Box is the highest ranking runner for the Prairie Fire with the third-best time in the mile run (4:27.56) while teammate Gabe Moreno will challenge in the 3000- (9:09.18) and 5000-meter (15:51.41) runs. On the women’s side Emma Swanson has the team’s top times in the 800- (2:31.16), mile (5:41.72) and 60-meter hurdles (10.62) while Caitlin McLaughlin searches for a top finish in the shot put (35’11”) and weight throw (38’06.75”).
After falling in the standings on both sides Lawrence aims to get back in to championship contention this season. The men had a seventh-place finish a year ago and will rely on Sam Stevens and Kyle Dockery to earn points in the distance events. Stevens owns the top time in the conference in the 5000-meter run (15:24.61) and has a runner-up time in the 3000 (8:50.83) while Dockery is just behind Stevens in both the 3000 (fourth, 8:58.16) and 5000 (second, 15:29.99). On the women’s side, Emily Muhs posted top-11 times in both the 3000 (11th, 11:00.68) and 5000 (eighth, 19:17.55) with teammate Mallory Koula leading the sprint events in the 60- and 200-meter dashes. Anna Bolgrien will also be in medal contention in the 60-meter hurdles (seventh, 10.07) as she holds a top-10 time entering the championships.
Monmouth will be gunning for its 11th straight sweep of the team championship events while the men will compete for its 13th straight championship in Jacksonville. The Fighting Scots hold top marks in 11 separate events on the men’s side led by Kiante Green who holds conference-best times in the 60- (6.99) and 200-dash (22.25). James Wilson has the best long jump (22’07.75”) and is tied with teammate Matt Hassler with the best high jump (6’00.75”). Wilson also has a top-five mark in the 200-dash (second, 22.50). DeAndre Smith will contend for gold in the field events with the conference-best shot put (52’06.25”) and weighted throw (54’05.50”). Kenzie Payton and Rachel Bowden are the front runners for the women’s side, each having top-five times in three events. Payton posts the conference’s third best time in the 400-dash (1:01.33) while placing fourth in the 60- (8.17) and 200-dashes (27.17). Bowden’s top-five times all come in distance events where she leads the league in the mile (5:07.62), is third in the 800- (2:18.70) and fourth in the 3000-run (10:46.69). Allison Devor leads the MWC in the weight and shot and is the Scots’ lone returning individual champion, winning both events last year. Monmouth also defends conference titles in three relay events, winning the men’s 4x200 and the women’s 4x400 and distance medley relay.
After a third place finish last year the Ripon men aim to snap the streak of Monmouth and bring home its first MWC men’s team championship in school history. Matt Wood is the lone returning champion from a year ago when he won the 400-dash and is primed to repeat as he holds the fastest time in the league this year (50.66). Cory Zimmerman has a pair of top-10 times, ranking tops in the 800-dash (1:56.72) and 10th in the mile (4:33.81). The Red Hawks have a strong trio of field event participants led by Adam Sellner who is second in the conference in the weight throw (53’04.50”) while Kyle Novack (pole vault, third, 14’00.25”) and Phil Akins (shot put, seventh, 43’10”) both hold top-10 marks in their respective field events. Michelle Matter headlines the women’s side with top conference times in the 5000 (third, 18:19.70), 3000 (fifth, 10:49.80) and mile (fourth, 5:13.38) with Lexie Schaffer holding the fourth-best high jump (5’01.50”) and fourth fastest 400-dash time (1:01.66).
Last season St. Norbert earned a pair of runner-up finishes at the championships and look to take the next step and claim a conference championship for the first time in school history on the men’s side and the first since 1991 on the women’s side. The men will defend a championship in the distance medley relay while Nathan Heppe is in search of gold, entering with third-best time in the league in the 800-dash (1:57.77). Hayden Hoffmann will contend in the distance events leading the Green Knights in the mile (fifth, 4:29.22) and 5000 (fourth, 15:48.69) while Joseph McArdle has the fourth best mark in the shot put (44’08.25”) during the regular season. A pair of middle and long distance runners will headline the St. Norbert women as Emily Schudrowitz and Mackenzie Weber will race for individual titles. Schudrowitz owns the league’s fastest time in the 800-dash (2:14.40) and the fifth-best mark in the mile (5:14.94) with Weber leading the way with a pair of runner-up times in the 3000 (10:32.85) and 5000 (17:40.42).