Team Effort Needed to Continue Scots' Run at Midwest Conference Track Championships

by Dan Nolan

Monmouth, IL (02/27/2020) — Nearly everyone will need to contribute if the Monmouth College men's track team is to continue its string of 20 straight Midwest Conference Indoor Men's Track and Field Championships. It's the same all-hands-on-deck scenario for the Scots' women to return to the top of the podium.

"I think we have some headliners," said Fighting Scots' coach Roger Haynes, who has guided the men's team to 26 indoor titles in the last 29 years. "We've got to do what we did last weekend and have some second- and third-place folks fill in. We're trying to see where we need to fill and place our people the best we can."

Monmouth's men have turned in the league's top performances in six events, including the 4x200 and 4x400 relays. They're especially deep in the throws, where Drew Thaxton leads Monmouth's top three seeds in the shot put ahead of Joe Krall and Andy Bird. The trio also figures in the weight throw, where Krall and Thaxton trade places and Bird is fourth.

On the track, sophomore Riley Dulin has come on strong in the distance events. In the mile, he's second, just three one-hundredths of a second back of the leader, and is a bit further off the pace in the 3K, where he's the third seed.

Monmouth's men have plenty of No. 2 seeds, as Stone Darrow's time in the 60-meter dash leads three Scots in the top eight. There are another four Scots in the top eight of the 200, where Darrow is seeded third, just two-tenths of a second out of first.

Austin Pfau's season-best mark in the triple jump leads a pack of four Scots in the top eight.

Only Monmouth's 4x200 relay has the league's top women's time, but it's a razor-thin margin.

"Ripon and St. Norbert are both within a half-second of us in the 4x2, so that should be a really interesting race," reported Haynes. "We'll have to run some personal bests and pass the stick well three times if we want to win it."

The Scots' women may not have the lion's share of top times, but they could make up for it with a bevy of solid top-eight efforts. Much like the men, the women's throws group has four in the top eight of the weight throw and shot put.

Hannah McVey and Megan Gilstrap enter with the second- and third-best marks in the weight throw. It's a 2-4-5 lineup in the shot, where Kareema Lawal has the No. 2 throw, followed by Leigha Sebben at No. 4 and Gilstrap is fifth.

Vanessa Caldwell, Cindy Ladner and Aleeka Gentzler add high-point potential in their top events. Caldwell is seeded second in the 60-meter hurdles, Ladner is No. 2 in the long jump and Gentzler adds another No. 2 position in the high jump.

"We'll have to work hard to close the gap this year on (defending women's champion) St. Norbert," admitted Haynes. "They've done a nice job with their freshman class."

The Scots may be able to close the gap somewhat with their wild card entry. Teams are allowed one extra entry over the permissible three entries in an event. Haynes says it's likely no secret where he's putting his extra egg in the basket.

"It's fairly obvious to the rest of the coaches where we'll use that for the men and women," reported Haynes. "We're not as deep in some areas as other teams, so we're going to have to move people around and use them the best we can."

Could the Scots' men win their 21st straight at the 2020 meet and the women reclaim the team title that has eluded them since St. Norbert dethroned them in 2015? Even Haynes is a bit unsure.

"Today's student-athletes seem to not focus on that (team score) as much as they do their individual performances," said Haynes of the streaks. "We'll have a good week of practice and head to Grinnell to see what the men and women can do. It's a great facility and we'll be ready to go."