CCIW men's & women's Indoor Track & Field Championships Preview

NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Carthage College will host the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin’s (CCIW) eighth Indoor Track and Field Championships Saturday at the Tarble Athletic and Recreation Center in Kenosha, Wis.

Field events begin at 10:30 a.m. with the women’s 20-pound weight throw. The running events begin at 11:30 a.m. with the women’s distance medley relay.

The North Central men and women come into this year’s meet as the defending champion. The men have won every indoor title since the CCIW began sponsoring a championship in indoor track and field in 2001. The women are the two-time defending champions after Carthage won four straight from 2001-2005.

In preparation for the conference meet, the North Central men took part in meets at Purdue, Iowa and the University of Chicago last weekend. Michael Bina, competing at the Purdue meet, recorded a mark of 17-0 ¾ in the pole vault, which was an NCAA Division III automatic qualifier. At the University of Iowa, Jacob Austin recorded his best time of the season and won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:57.17. The 4x400 relay team of Greg Jackson, Adam Pennington, Adam Johnson and Aaron Russo also took first with a time of 3:23.07. At the University of Chicago, Marc Holt placed first in the shot put with a throw of 52-5 ½.

The women’s team also competed at Chicago and Purdue over the weekend in preparation for the conference championships. At the Chicago meet, Michelle Crisione recorded an NCAA provisional height of 5-5 in the high jump, which was a personal best. Sarah Scanlin was third in the 5,000-meter run (19:22.73) while Sheila Walsh was second in the 400-meter dash (1:00.89). At Purdue, Allison Worley and Yvonne Palmer both improved their provisional qualifying marks in the pole vault (11-6 ½). Worley finished sixth and Palmer placed seventh.

Augustana’s men’s mile relay team of Evan Holschbach, Kyle Ekberg, Matt Somers and Ted McMillan won with a time of 3:19.16 at the Badge Open in Madison, Wis., on Feb. 23. The time was less than one-hundredth of a second off the school record and was also the third fastest time recorded in NCAA Division III this season. The time was an NCAA Division III qualifier. John Thompson, a week after hitting a mark of 16-0 in the pole vault, hit 15-5 ¾ at the Leif Ericson Invitational on Feb. 22. Pat Hoefle won the 35-pound weight throw (40-9 ¾) at the Leif Ericson Invitational while Nate Maass took the high jump (5-8), Pat Zeunik captured the long jump (20-2 ½) and David Zeko won the triple jump (39-9 ¾).

Liz Driscoll won the mile for Augustana at the Iowa Invitational on Feb. 22 with a time of 5:04.85 to qualify for a spot in the NCAA Indoor Championships. Driscoll’s win in the mile was one of three victories for the Augustana women at the Iowa Invitational. Ellen Adams won the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:51.67 while Kristy Klouda won the pole vault (9-0 ¼). Sprinter Keli Coleman met the NCAA provisional time in the 55-meter dash, winning with a time of 7.29 at the Leif Ericson Invitational.

Both the Illinois Wesleyan men and women put forth solid performances at the DePauw Invitational on Feb. 16. Both teams finished second and were the highest placing Division III teams at the meet. The men finished with 67 points, second only to Division II Indianapolis. The women tallied 131 points and finished second to Division I Austin Peay. Segun Olopo was champion in the men’s 55-meter dash (6.46) and second in the 400-meter dash (50.76). Matt Harden achieved a meet-record time of 49.64 to win the 400. Andrew Burton tied for first in the long jump (22-8). On the women’s side, Mackenzie Clemens won the 800-meter run with a meet-record time of 2:14.36. Kerry Devitt won the mile (5:17.87), Ali McCoy won the 400-meter dash (58.97) and Amanda LaRocca was champion in the 55-meter hurdles (8.25).

The Carthage women placed second at the University of Chicago meet on Feb. 23 in the team’s final tune-up before the conference championships. The Lady Reds finished with a team score of 72.33 as Karen Jackson won the 3,000-meter run (10:51.52) and Stephanie Moy won the pole vault (11-0 ¾). Ashura Jenkins finished second in both the 55-meter dash (7.50) and the 200-meter dash (26.60). Mindy Harrington was second in the weight throw (47-9 ¼). The Carthage men recently placed fourth at the University of Chicago meet on Feb. 23. The Red Men tallied 40 points as Dennis Hutchinson was third in the 35-pound weight throw (45-11 ½) and Joel Brunner was fourth in the 800-meter run (1:59.94). Chas Walton finished fourth in the pole vault (13-6 ¼).

Wheaton ’s final tune-up before the conference championship was at the Dick Pond Invitational on Feb. 22 at Lewis University. Tiffany Overlien was the winner in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:01.18 while Marah Borgman won the mile run with a time of 5:13.83. Lisa Baumert took home the title in the 800-meter run (2:18.93). David Larson won the pole vault on the men’s side while Ian Peebles finished second in the 55-meter dash (6.65). Kyle Kunz was second in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:58.64.

The Millikin women came away victorious at the Illinois College Alumni Classic on Feb. 23 in their final meet before the conference championships. Allison May established a new school record in the weight throw, winning the event with a toss of 48-0 ½. Abby Parsons broke her own school record in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.73. Lori Brown finished first in the 55-meter hurdles (8.79), third in the 200-meter dash (27.90) and third in the 55-meter dash (7.69). Michelle King won the mile with a time of 5:42.91. The men finished second overall at the Illinois College Alumni Classic as Sam Chwalek won the mile with a time of 4:39.27. Michael Gurney finished second in the 3,000-meter run (9:37.23) while Kieron Boyd was third in the 55-meter dash (6.70).

Elmhurst wrapped up its indoor regular season at the Indoor Chicagoland Championships on Feb. 16 hosted by Lewis University. On the men’s side, Pat Austin was second in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 12:22.95 while Brian McConnell was fourth in the mile with a time of 4:21.81. Michelle Smith scored the Bluejays’ only point on the women’s side with an eighth place finish in the 5,000-meter run (12:21.9).

North Park began the 2008 indoor season with new coach Aaron Decker. Decker and the Vikings also competed at the Chicagoland Championships two weeks ago as Chris Roe achieved a personal best in both the mile (4:43.73) and 5,000-meter run (16:36.02). On the women’s side, Kasia Jemine had two personal bests in the shot put (9.40 meters) and weight throw (9.52 meters).