The Prairie Fire outdoor track and field teams seek to challenge themselves in 2013.
The Knox women’s and men’s squads, under the direction of head coach Jason Haynes, are working hard to get better in all events and move up in the Midwest Conference standings. The women’s team placed ninth, and the men’s team finished eighth at the 2012 MWC Outdoor Track and Field Championships hosted by St. Norbert College.
The two squads combined to set 20 new all-time top 10 outdoor track and field marks at the conference meet. Haynes said the outdoor program is turning the corner.
“Even though our placement at the Midwest Conference meet didn’t show it, we made some huge improvements over the previous season.”
Seven members of last year’s Prairie Fire women’s team return in 2013. They are senior Sara Brown (Homer Glen, IL), juniors Carli Bogolub (Downers Grove, IL, Highland Park), Danielle Erikson (Mokena, Illinois, Lincoln-Way East), and Sophia Mwaura (Santa Fe, NM, Santa Fe Prep), and sophomores ShirJia Bielefeld (Weston, WI, DC Everest), Jade Ivy (Chicago, IL, William H. Taft), and Nicolette Bridgeforth (Chicago, IL, Guerin Prep). The squad also welcomes back seniors Lizzy Warner (Champaign, IL, University Laboratory) and Jenny Linder (Owasso, OK, Owasso Science and Math), who missed last season after running on the 2011 team.
Ten newcomers make up the rest of the women’s roster. Eight are first-years, along with one sophomore and one junior. “I have really been impressed with the work ethic of our first-years,” said Haynes, who is looking for leadership from the juniors and seniors that he’s coached and know his expectations.
Three of the returning members of the team have combined to set new all-time top 10 marks in four events.
Mwaura ranks #2 on the all-time performance list in the hammer throw. She had a career-best throw of 123’ 1” at the 2012 Ashford University Spring Classic. Mwaura is also sixth on the all-time individual list in the discus with her throw of 116’ 7” at the Knox College Invitational, the first meet of the 2012 outdoor season.
Brown and Warner were part of the foursome that set the third-fastest time on record in the 4x100 meter relay. They ran the race in 51.26 seconds at the 2010 MWC Championships at Illinois College.
The Prairie Fire men’s team is experienced with 11 members of last year’s squad coming back this spring. The roster is comprised of five seniors, six juniors, and four first-years.
The seniors include Sean Choate (Chicago, IL, Chicago Academy ), Dan Johnson (Chicago, IL, Luther South), Paul Lebryk (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South ), Jonas Mack (Algonquin, IL, Cary-Grove), and Joe Puntoriero (Cheektowaga, New York, Cleveland Hill). Haynes is also expecting solid seasons from juniors Matt Brongo (Eureka, IL, Eureka), Weston Chenoweth (Canton, IL, Canton), Devin Compton (Aurora, IL, West Aurora ), Bobby Mueller (Woodridge, IL, Downers Grove South), Tim Worrell (Wataga, IL, ROWVA), and Adam Worden (Monee, IL, Crete-Monee) in order for the squad to move up in the conference.
Nine members of the men’s team have established all-time top 10 performances in at least one event, led by Puntoriero with three.
Puntoriero has two of the fastest times in the 200 meters. His career-best of 22.20 seconds during the 2010 season is #5 all-time. Puntoriero also recorded a time of 22.37 seconds in 2010 that ranks 10th in school history.
Puntoriero’s top time of 50.09 seconds in the 400 meters in 2010 is fifth on the all-time individual list. He owns the sixth-best long jump performance as well with a distance of 22’ 3 ½” at last year’s conference championships.
Choate and Chenoweth are in the top 10 in two events.
Choate, a long distance runner, has the ninth fastest time in the 5000 meter run (15:48.05), and he ranks #4 all-time in the 10,000 meter run when he crossed the finish line in 32:50.36 last April during a meet at Western Illinois University.
Chenoweth is #10 on the all-time individual list with a javelin throw of 154’ 1” last season. He also cracked the top 10 in the discus in 2012 when one of his throws traveled 132’ 1” for ninth all-time.
Brongo, Johnson, Lebryk, Mack, Mueller, and Worrell are the others with efforts that resulted in top 10 recognition in one event.
Mack medaled at last year’s MWC meet in the javelin. He placed second in the event with a distance of 162’ 3” that ranks fourth all-time at Knox.
Johnson has the seventh and eighth longest hammer throws, Lebryk is fourth on the all-time individual list in the hammer, Worrell is seventh on the individual list in the hammer, Brongo is eighth on the individual list in the 800 meter run, and Mueller is 10th on the individual list in the 800 meters.
The Prairie Fire outdoor track and field teams begin the 2013 season by hosting the Knox College Open on March 29.
