March 01 - MWC Championships

The Knox men placed eighth and the women took ninth at the Midwest Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships hosted by Illinois College Friday and Saturday, February 29-March 1. The Prairie Fire men set a school record in the sprint medley relay to highlight the weekend.

The team of Mike Kizior, Dan Kizior, Brett Daley and Tim Rairdon ran the 1600-meter sprint medley in a time of 3:42.65 to take third place at the MWC Championships. The previous Knox College school record in the event was 3:43.55, set in 2006.

Rairdon earned all-conference honors after taking third in the 800-meter run in a time of 1:59.41. Adam Kent scored in the weight throw with a toss of 42' 4", good for eighth place. The men's 4x200-meter relay team took eighth with a time of 1:37.71.

Pam Bell led the Prairie Fire women by placing in the top-eight in three individual events. She received all-conference recognition with her third-place showing in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.90 seconds. Bell also took fourth in the high jump (5' 1.25") and seventh in the long jump (16' 2.25").

Four relay teams also scored for the Knox women. The sprint medley team took sixth in a time of 4:32.57. The 4x200-meter relay team (1:55.63), distance medley relay team (14:22.68) and the 4x400-meter relay team (4:23.85) each took seventh place.

February 16 - Knox Invitational

Adam Kent and Tim Rairdon each set a Knox College school record at the Knox Indoor Track and Field Invitational Saturday, February 16. Kent set the school mark in the weight throw and Rairdon broke the 800-meter run record.

Kent had a weight throw of 50' 5.5" in the finals to place fourth. His mark bettered the previous school record of 49' 10", set by Steven Robertson in 1999. Kent also added a third-place showing in the shot put with a distance of 45' 5.25". Rairdon crossed the finish line with a second-place time of 1:59.36 to break the previous mark of 1:59.66 set last year by Erik DeLapp.

Avi Segaloff took third in the 5000-meter run in a time of 17:33.46 while Chris Mouzakitis placed fifth in the 3000-meter run in 9:59.69. The Prairie Fire sprint medley team (third), 800-meter relay team (fourth), and 4x400-meter relay team (fifth) also placed in the top five on the men's side.

Pam Bell had the top finish for Knox, winning the women's high jump with a mark of 4' 11". Bell added second-place finishes in the 200-meter dash (27.35) and the long jump (16' 11.5") to help the Prairie Fire women to third place overall.

Jaclyn Anderson finished right behind Bell in the high jump, taking second with an effort of 4' 7". Tanya Novotnak was third in the mile run in a time of 6:05.65. Karen Brophy (6:08.68) and Helen Hapner (6:58.31) took fourth and fifth, respectively, in the mile. Brophy also placed fourth in the 3000-meter run with a time of 12:08.83.

Megan Butler was fifth in the 3000-meter run in 13:25.26. Chloe Bohm had a time of 1:04.71 in the 400-meter dash and Leah Heister had a mark of 30' 8.25" in the triple jump for fifth-place finishes. The 4x400-meter relay team took third in 4:28.31.

February 09 - Illinois College Blue Classic

The 2008 Prairie Fire Indoor Track team had another strong showing at the Illinois College Blue Classic. Although the meet was unscored, several relay squads performed well for the women's and men's teams.

Sophomore Adam Kent had the individual highlight of the day by setting a personal best in the weight throw. His mark of 48' 5.5" was good for seventh place, the highest individual finish for Knox. The men's 4x200-meter relay squad placed sixth with a season-best time of 1:39.54. Running for the squad were sophomore captain David Footle, junior Michael Kizior, freshman Daniel Kizior, and freshman Bill Schaefer. The men's sprint medley squad placed fifth with a 3:53.02 showing, led by Michael Kizior, Daniel Kizior, Bill Schaefer, and senior Tim Rairdon.

On the women's side, the 4x200-meter relay squad placed sixth with a season-best time of 1:56.49. The team consisted of senior captain Pam Bell, senior captain Leah Heister, junior captain Jaclyn Anderson, and freshman Chloe Bohm.  The 4x400-meter relay team was seventh with a season-best time of 4:29.69. The mark was seven seconds faster than the previous season best.  Running for the squad were Bell, freshman Tara Orech, freshman Claire Knowlton, and Bohm.

February 02 - Cornell Hilltop Open

Pam Bell recorded sixth-place finishes in two events to lead the Knox indoor track and field teams at the Cornell Hilltop Invitational. She had a mark of 15' 6.25" in the long jump and had a high jump of 4' 9.75" for her sixth-place efforts. Bell also added a ninth-place showing in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:04.62.

Adam Kent added a sixth-place showing on the men's side. He had a PR throw of 48' 4.75" which bettered his previous career best by nearly six inches. He was also just nine inches shy of a school record.

January 26 - Midwest Invitational

The Knox men's and women's track and field squads competed at the Monmouth College Invitational. Against a very strong field, the Prairie Fire turned in several outstanding individual performances.

Senior captain Pam Bell had the highest finish of the day with her second-place mark of 5' 1" in the high jump. She also had season-bests in the long jump at 15' 8.25" and in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.97 seconds.

Also scoring for the women was the 4x200-meter relay team of Bell, senior captain Leah Heister, junior captain Jaclyn Anderson, and freshman Chloe Bohm, which had a season-best time of 1:57.02. Junior Karen Brophy placed eighth in both of her two races. She had a time of 12:25.96 in the 3000-meter run and finished the 5000-meter run in 21:53.45. The Knox women finished in seventh place.

Two Prairie Fire men had ninth-place finishes. Senior Tim Rairdon finished the mile in a time of 4:37.31 and sophomore Adam Kent had a career-best effort in the shot put with a mark of 42' 4".

January 19 - Prairie Fire Indoor Quadrangular

The Knox men placed third and the women took fourth at the Prairie Fire Indoor Track & Field Quadrangular. Monmouth won the men's and women's meets.

Pam Bell led the Prairie Fire women by scoring in five events. She had three season-best marks, including a high jump of 1.5 meters, good for second place. Bell added season-best marks and a pair of fourth-place finishes in the long jump (4.62 meters) and 200-meter dash (28.57 seconds). She took sixth in the 55-meter dash and ran the lead-off leg of the second-place 4x200-meter relay.

Jaclyn Anderson finished behind Bell in the high jump and long jump. She took fifth in the high jump with an effort of 1.35 meters and placed sixth in the long jump with a mark of 4.38 meters.

Chloe Anderson finished third in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:05.79. Tanya Nototnak (12:40.08) and Karen Brophy (12:51.47) finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the 3000-meter run.

Tim Rairdon was the top men's finisher for Knox, placing second in the 400-meter dash with a time of 53.50 seconds. Adam Kent had two top-five finishes. He took third in the weight throw with a mark of 12.83 meters, and later added a fifth-place finish in the shot put with an effort of 12.82 meters.

Bill Schaefer was fourth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.93 seconds. Ari Segaloff took fifth in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:00.19. The 4x400-meter relay team fininished fourth.

Complete results are available here.

January 12 - Illinois Wesleyan Relays

The 2008 Knox College track and field team kicked off its season with a solid showing at the Illinois Wesleyan Relays. Both the men and women finished in fifth place.

The men's team finished with 16 points. They were led by senior Tim Rairdon, who placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:02.40. Also scoring individually for the men were freshman hurdler Bill Schaefer, who took fourth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.84 seconds, and sophomore Adam Kent, who finished sixth in both the weight throw and shot put with marks of 39' 8" and 39' 5", respectively.

On the women's side, the team finished with 32 points. The team was led by senior captain Pam Bell and junior captain Jaclyn Anderson, who tied for second place in the women's high jump with marks of 4' 10 1/4". Anderson also took a sixth-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 14' 6". Also scoring for the Prairie Fire was senior captain Leah Heister. She finished the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 10.36 seconds, and also finished sixth in the triple jump with a mark of 29' 1/4".

Freshman Chloe Bohm was fifth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 1:05.52. Senior Monyca Fisher and sophomore Cassie Milleville finished fifth and sixth in the weight throw with marks of 23' 4 3/4" and 23' 0", respectively. Milleville also finished sixth in the shot put with a toss of 22' 9 1/4".