2012 Midwest Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships – Illinois College
Day 1- February 24, 2012
February 24 results
Jacksonville, IL - The Prairie Fire had a medal winner in a men’s field event, broke two school records, and nearly took down a third on the opening day of the conference meet.
Sophomore Weston Chenoweth (Canton, IL, Canton) continued his recent success in the shot put. He placed second with a career-best throw of 46’ 2 ¾” for an eighth place ranking on the all-time individual list. Chenoweth closed out the regular season on February 18 with a third place finish in the shot at the University of Dubuque. His distance of 45’ 7.24” was the longest of his career - until Friday’s throw - and ranked second in the Midwest Conference.
Sophomore Devin Compton (Aurora, IL, West Aurora ) also scored for Knox in the shot put. His throw of 43’ 5 ¼” was good for eighth place overall.
The men’s sprint medley relay team set a new school record, crossing the finish line in 3:41.80. That topped the previous all-time mark of 3:42.65 in February of 2008 also at Illinois College. The four runners that established the new all-time relay mark were junior Joe Puntoriero (Cheektowaga, NY, Cleveland Hill) and sophomores Matt Brongo (Eureka, IL, Eureka), Bobby Mueller (Woodridge, IL, Downers Grove South), and Joe Knutson (Shorewood, WI, Shorewood).
Three other members of the men’s team turned in strong efforts in their events and scored points for the Fire.
Senior Kevin Box (Naperville, IL, Naperville North) placed fifth in the mile in 4:28.12, which is second on the all-time performance list in the event for Knox. Box also holds the record of 4:27.56 which he set on January 28, 2012 at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Sophomore Gabe Moreno (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg ) was seventh in the 5000 meter run. His time of 15:45.95 tied his own mark for #7 on the all-time performance list in the 5K.
The men's 4x200 relay placed seventh in 1:35.02, which ranks as the 10th fastest time in the event.
The Knox women’s team had a record-breaking performance by senior Kristi Weller (Cullom, IL, Tri-Point). She set a new school mark in the 60 meter dash with her time of 8.24 seconds to qualify for the finals. Weller broke her own record of 8.36 seconds that she established earlier this month at the Knox Open.
The women’s 4x200 meter relay team just missed setting a new record. The foursome of Weller, senior Rayann Parkinson (Aledo, IL, Aledo), and sophomoresDanielle Erikson (Mokena, IL, Lincoln-Way East) and Yetunde Durotoye (Lagos, Nigeria, Loyola Jesuit College) ran the race in 1:51.67 for a sixth place finish. The time was just .30 seconds shy of the record (1:51.37) set in February of 2010.
The sprint medley relay team also had a good day, finishing in 4:28.86. Erickson, Parkinson, senior Emma Swanson (West Des Moines, IA, Valley), and Durotoye placed seventh. The time is the third-fastest for the event of all-time.
The Prairie Fire men’s team is in sixth place with 20 points going into Saturday’s second and final day of the championships. Monmouth College leads the men’s team standings with 69 points.
The Prairie Fire women’s team has five points so far and is in ninth place. Monmouth College also leads the women’s team standings with 83 points.
Both Knox teams will try to move up on what will be a busy Saturday with a lot of events at Illinois College.
Day 2- February 25, 2012
Jacksonville, IL - The Knox men's team placed eighth overall and the women's squad finished ninth following the last day of competition at the conference championships.
Junior Joe Puntoriero (Cheektowaga, NY, Cleveland Hill) just missed tying the school record in the 200 meter dash. He placed seventh overall in 22.90 seconds, which ranks second on the Knox men's team's all-time performance list in the 200 meters. The record, set by Scott McCarty in 1999, is 22.87 seconds.
Puntoriero also placed seventh in the 400 meters in a time of 51.84 seconds. He was one second off his personal best of 50.84 in the event, which he ran during the 2010 season.
The men’s distance medley relay team set the second-fastest time in school history. The foursome of senior Kevin Box (Naperville, IL, Naperville North), sophomore Bobby Mueller (Woodridge, IL, Downers Grove South), sophomore Joe Knutson (Shorewood, WI, Shorewood), and sophomore Gabe Moreno (Galesburg, IL, Galesburg) recorded a time of 10:47.72.
The men's 4x400 meter relay added a point to the team total by placing eighth.
Sophomore Matt Brongo (Eureka, IL, Eureka) scored in the 800 meters with an eighth place finish. His time of 2:00.82 is eighth on the all-time performance list and fourth on the all-time individual list.
Another relay team, the women’s distance medley relay, left its mark in the record books.
The four runners placed seventh and scored, crossing the finish line in 13:43.77. The time ranks fourth on the all-time performance list at Knox. Sophomore Yetunde Durotoye (Lagos, Nigeria, Loyola Jesuit College), senior Emma Swanson (West Des Moines, IA, Valley), senior Brenna DeGan (Naperville, IL, Naperville North), and sophomore Yael Cody (Highland Park, IL, Highland Park) each ran a leg in the race.
The Prairie Fire men’s team finished with 31 points. Monmouth College won the conference title with 208 points. Carroll University was second with 125 and St. Norbert College third with 97.
Monmouth’s women’s team also won the team title with 208 points. Like the men’s final team standings, Carroll (111.50) and St. Norbert (95) placed second and third, respectively.
The Midwest Conference indoor track and field championship page has the final results, top performances, and other information online at http://www.midwestconference.org/sports/2012/2/16/ITRACK_0216125657.aspx
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