Monmouth Track Improves League Marks at Keck Invitational

Monmouth, IL (02/09/2020) — The Monmouth College track teams are taking advantage of their remaining meets and improved their seeds at Saturday's Keck Invitational hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University where the men placed third and the women fourth.

In what has become a weekly occurrence, Monmouth's women's sprinters again turned in personal-best times. Cindy Ladner improved her PR in the prelims of the 60-meter dash with an 8.06 and then bettered the time in the finals with an 8.03 to place fifth, clocking a PR each time she's raced in the 60. Kenzie Baker also posted a PR in the 60 finals with a sixth-place time of 8.06. The tandem's times rank as the fourth and fifth fastest times in the Midwest Conference.

Baker also picked up a fourth-place finish in the 200 where she clocked a 26.58. Ladner took sixth with a 26.75, the fifth-fastest 200 time in the MWC.

The Scots' men also turned in improved league efforts on the track.

Darius Williams ran a 23.11 in the 200 - the fourth-best league time - to place fourth just behind Stone Darrow's third place time of 23-flat. Darrow was just three one-hundredths off his lifetime-best in the 60-meters with a runner up time of 6.99.

Riley Dulin and Griff Morrill turned in the league's third- and fifth-best times in the 3,000. Dulin won the race with a personal-best 8:57.44 while Morrill clocked a 9:05.20 to take third. Morrill also ran to a sixth-place finish in the mile with a 4:30.68 to rank third in the MWC. Arika Hofmann placed fifth in the women's mile, finishing with the league's fifth-best time of 5:28.59.

A league-best time was turned in by the men's 4x400 relay team. Darrow, Alexander Brock, Alex Cutright and Zach Vancil passed the baton in 3:27.18 to place third. Cutright also picked up a fifth-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles where he clocked an 8.73.

The field events also produced bettered MWC marks, including two wins and a national effort.

Joe Krall took the top honor in the weight throw and led three Scots in the top six. The senior's mark of a conference-best 59'11-1/4" won the event by more than 3' and ranks sixth nationally. Drew Thaxton turned in a 55'11-1/4" toss to take third and rank No. 2 in the league. Andy Bird ranks fourth in the MWC after a sixth-place finish with a personal-best heave of 52'6-1/2". Thaxton also placed third in the shot put at 49'7".

Hannah McVey's runner up mark of 50'8-1/4" in the women's weight throw led three Scots in the top five. Megan Gilstrap took fourth at 50'4" and Leigha Sebben was fifth with a throw of 49'5". The pair's performances rank third and fourth in the MWC. Sebben also turned in the league's fourth-best shot put with a sixth-place effort of 39'7".

Monmouth also recorded improved league marks and a win in the jumps where Reed Wilson cleared 14'1-1/4" to win the men's pole vault. Darius Williams added a No. 2 league mark in the long jump where he landed a personal-best 22'7-3/4" for a runner up finish, just 2" behind the winner. High jumper Aleeka Gentzler cleared the second-best bar in the league at 5'1" and was awarded fourth after six women tied for runner up at that mark.

The Scots host the nine-team Fighting Scot Invitational on Feb. 15 before traveling to Illinois College on Feb. 22 for the final meet leading up to the league championships at Grinnell Feb. 28-29.