Galesburg, IL – The Prairie Fire indoor track and field teams combined for three first place finishes and more than a dozen new entries in the record books during the Knox Open on Saturday.
The men’s squad finished with 82 points for third place among the eight participating teams. Central Methodist University took first place with 129 points and McKendree College finished second with 94 points. Beloit College (49 points) and Culver-Stockton College (43 points) rounded out the top five men’s teams.
The Knox women’s team tallied 53 points for a fourth place finish out of eight teams. Beloit College won the meet with 129 points followed by runner-up Central Methodist (106 points), McKendree (95 points), and Culver-Stockton (28 points) in fifth place.
The Prairie Fire finished 1-2 in the women’s 400 meter dash. First-year runner Carolina Goncalves (Chicago, IL, Walter Payton Prep) won the event in a time of 1:05.27 and her first-year teammate Shelby Holdener (Murray, UT, Alta) placed second in 1:09.47.
The Knox women’s squad set six new all-time top 10 indoor track and field marks.
First-year Grace Neubauer (Inverness, IL, William Fremd) finished fourth in the mile in 6:02.92, which ranks #5 on the all-time individual list, and topped her previous season-best time of 6:11.96.
First-yearsLizzy Reyes (Oak Park, IL, Oak Park-River Forest) and Mickella Duffy-Webb (Colorado Springs, CO, William J Palmer) also scored points for the Prairie Fire by placing in fifth and sixth place, respectively.
Reyes moved up to #6 on the all-time individual list by crossing the finish line in 6:04.12, shaving 4.51 seconds off her previous fastest time. Duffy-Webb ran a season-best 6:05.33 for the #8 spot on the all-time individual list in the mile.
Junior Autumn Rohweder (Oneida, IL, ROWVA) ran the 3000 meter race in 13:20.39 and scored with a fourth place finish.
Sophomores ShirJia Bielefeld (Weston, WI, DC Everest) and Nicolette Bridgeforth (Chicago, IL, Guerin Prep) and junior Sophia Mwaura (Santa Fe, NM, Santa Fe Prep) also added their names to the all-time top 10 individual list while scoring valuable points for Knox in field events.
Bielefeld cleared 7’ 6 ½” in the pole vault to place fourth in the event. The height ranks #6 on the all-time individual list. Bridgeforth and Mwaura finished fifth and sixth in the weight throw. Bridgeforth’s throw of 38’ 4 ¾” is #6 on the individual list and Mwaura’s throw of 34’ 2 ¾” ranks #10 all-time.
The women’s team placed second in the 4x200 and 4x400 relays for eight points apiece. Running in the 4x200 were Goncalves, junior Danielle Erikson (Mokena, IL, Lincoln-Way East), and seniors Lizzy Warner (Champaign, IL, University Laboratory) and Sara Brown (Homer Glen, IL, Lockport). The 4x400 team was Goncalves, Warner, Holdener, and first-year Catlin Watts (Chicago, IL, Whitney Young).
Erikson also scored for Knox in the long jump, recording a distance of 13’ 7 ¾”.
Winning events for the men’s team, which had seven all-time top 10 indoor track and field additions, were seniors Joe Puntoriero (Cheektowaga, NY, Cleveland Hill) and Sean Choate (Chicago, IL, Chicago Academy).
Puntoriero continued his dominance in the 200 meters. He won the race in a time of :22.77, tying his own mark for the second-fastest time in school history. Puntoriero set a new record in the event with a time of :22.56 a week ago during the ACM Invite at Grinnell College. He also added points in the long jump by placing fourth with a leap of 18’ 7 ¾”.
Choate won the 3000 meter race in a time of 9:11.40. First-year Victor Schultz (Staunton, VA, Robert E Lee) placed second behind Choate in 9:40.48 as the two combined to score 18 points for Knox.
Choate and Schultz also had back-to-back finishes in the mile. Choate placed third in a career-best time of 4:34.22, the third-fastest time in school history and the second-fastest on the all-time individual list. Schultz finished third with his top time to date of 4:43.53 and a #6 ranking on the individual list.
First-year Alan Lee (St. Louis, MO, St. Mary's) provided the Prairie Fire men with their seventh all-time top 10 mark when he ran the 60 meters in :07.91. The time is the 10th fastest in school history and is #3 on the all-time individual list.
The Knox 4x200 and 4x400 relay teams combined to score 14 points for the squad.
The 4x200 relay foursome of juniors Matt Brongo (Eureka, IL, Eureka) and Bobby Mueller (Woodridge, IL, Downers Grove South), senior Jonas Mack (Algonquin, IL, Cary-Grove), and first-year Ian Horne (Albuquerque, NM, La Cueva) finished second in 1:36.8. The 4x400 placed third in 3:39.82 behind Puntoriero, Brongo, Mueller, and Horne.
The Prairie Fire men’s squad added three top three placements in the field events.
Junior Weston Chenoweth (Canton, IL, Canton) finished second in the shot put with a throw of 43’ 5 ¼” followed by first-year Brennan McGlauchlen (Inver Grove Heights, MN, Simley), whose distance of 43’ 2 ¼” was good for third place. Chenoweth and McGlauchlen combined for 14 points in the shot.
Senior Paul Lebryk (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South ) was third in the weight throw with a heave of 43’ 2 ½”.
The Prairie Fire women’s and men’s teams conclude the regular season at the Illinois College Alumni Classic on February 15.
Knox will then have a week to get ready for the Midwest Conference indoor Track and Field Championships February 22 and 23 at Monmouth College.
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