Anderson, Ruffin, Crofton Win Events at T&F Opener

by Nathan Baliva

MONMOUTH, Ill. (12/02/2023) — The Monmouth College track and field teams began their seasons on Saturday at the Frigid Bee Invite, hosted by St, Ambrose University. The women finished in second place overall while the men finished fourth.

Women
Freshman Emma Crofton (Neponset, Illinois) won the triple jump at 9.63m with freshmen Danielle Johnson (Annawan, Illinois) and Chloe Allen (Monmouth, Illinois) in second and fourth respectively. Johnson jumped 9.56m in her first meet while Allen went 9.13m.

Sophomore Maddie Rusk (Annawan, Illinois) was second in both the 200m and the long jump with new personal bests in both events. She ran 26.90 seconds in the 200m and jumped 5.21m.

Freshman Soloria Jackson (Rockford, Illinois) sprinted to a second-place finish in the 60m with a time of 9.99.

In the throwing events, the Scots finished 2-3-4 in the shot put and 2-3-5 in the weight throw. Kayla Braun (Evansville, Illinois) was second in the shot put with a throw of 12.53m, just ahead of Maddie Boley (Beecher, Illinois) at 12.13m and Gracie Gibbons (Altona, Illinois) at 11.97m). Boley was second in the weight throw at 15.50m with Gibbons in third at 14.22m and Jillian Toth (El Paso, Illinois) finished fifth at 13.58m.

Men
Shane Anderson (Lisle, Illinois) won the weight throw for the men with a career-best throw of 18.22m. That performance is the seventh best throw in Monmouth history and put him in the top five nationally. Caleb Toberman (Clifton, Illinois) finished third at 16.51m. Toberman was fifth in the shot put at 14.40m, just ahead of Blake Orwig (Wyoming, Illinois) at 13.93m.

Freshman Tashawn Ruffin (Bloomington, Illinois) won the triple jump in his first collegiate meet with a jump of 13.35m.

Eli Newton (Dallas City, Illinois) finished fourth in the mile with a personal best 4:29.42.

The 4x400 men's relay team of Patrick Curry Jr. (Chicago, Illinois), Xavier Camper (Grayslake, Illinois), Newton and Adrian Outlaw (Galesburg, Illinois) finished second with a time of 3:30.06.

NEXT UP:

The Scots are now off until hosting the Midwest Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 20 in the Huff Center Fieldhouse.

NCAA Division III National Rankings (as of 6:30 pm 12/2/23)
2 - Shane Anderson - weight throw (18.22m)
11 - Maddie Rusk - long jump (5.21m)
12 - men's 4x400m relay (3:26.73)
12 - Kayle Braun - shot put (12.53m)
14 - Tashawn Ruffin - triple jump (13.35m)
15 - Maddie Boley - shot put (15.50m)
15 - Eli Newton - mile -4:26.03
15 - Caleb Toberman - weight throw (16.51m)
18 - Maddie Boley - shot put (12.13m)
21 - Gracie Gibbons - shot put (11.97m)
21 - Caleb Toberman - shot put (14.40m)
22 - Maddie Rusk - 200m (26.71)
29 - Gracie Gibbons - weight throw (14.22m)
32 - Miranda Hursey - pole vault (3.05m)
37 - Blake Orwig - shot put (13.93m)
42 - Shane Anderson - shot put (13.72m)
44 - Jeff Schnetzler - weight throw (14.57m)
45 - Jillian Toth - weight throw (13.58m)

Career Highs for indoor meets (does not include those participating in an event for the first time)

Competitor - event - new career high (old career high)
Shane Anderson - shot put - 13.72m (11.74m)
Shane Anderson - weight throw - 18.22m (18.16m)
Kayla Braun - shot put - 12.53m (12.40m)
Ally Celus - 200m - 28.45 (28.47)
Patrick Curry Jr. - 200m - 23.83 (24.18)
Gracie Gibbons - shot put - 11.97m (11.42)
Gracie Gibbons - weight throw - 14.22m (13.57m)
Brynn Hogan - weight throw - 12.65m (11.26m)
Eli Newton - mile - 4:29.42 (4:33.78)
Maddie Rusk - 200m - 27.12 (27.45)
Maddie Rusk - long jump - 5.21m (4.87m)
Jeff Schnetzler - weight throw - 14.57m (14.29m)
Jillian Toth - shot put - 11.65m (9.90m)
Jillian Toth - weight throw - 13.59m (13.15m)