2004 Results

Indoor Track and Field

March 5-6 MWC Indoor Championships [women 6th, men 8th of 9]

Seniors Ben Loy and Erick Burton each earned an individual medal with a top-3 finish to lead the Prairie Fire effort at the 2004 Midwest Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships March 5 and 6. Knox served as the official conference meet host for the 8th consecutive year. Scoring more than twice as many points as a year ago in both divisions, the women improved one spot in the final standings to 6th (but only a slim 2.5 points out of 4th) and the men ended the weekend in 8th place. Loy turned in a career-best performance in the shot put to place 2nd with a throw of 48'10.25", a personal best by four inches and the top mark until the final round. Loy also recorded a PR in the weight throw with a toss of 42'1.5". Burton scored in three jumping events on the weekend and earned his first MWC medal in his specialty, the pole vault, as he cleared 13'9.25" to place 3rd. He also scored in the long jump (7th, 20'3") and high jump (7th, 5'7") and ran the anchor leg on the 8th-place 4x400 relay.

Knox did not have an individual female medalist by virtue of a top-3 finish but posted several near-miss 4th-place performances. Junior Rachel Spiegel finished 4th in both sand jumps, highlighted by another record-setting leap in the triple jump. After her 16'3" effort in Friday's long jump competition, Spiegel turned in a 34'4" in the triple jump to add three inches to her week-old school mark. Sarah Wallen, last year's 3rd-place finisher, just missed another medal in the pole vault by placing 4th with a season-best clearance of 9'4". Wallen also tied for 5th in the high jump with senior teammate Ellie Dust with an indoor PR of 4'7". Senior Jenny Larsen scored in all three short dashes, led by a 4th in the 400m. Her time of 1:01.15 was a career PR and the sixth-fastest ever run indoors. She also placed 7th at both 55m (7.73) and 200m (27.63), and her 55m preliminary heat time of 7.65 was only .02 shy of the Knox school record.

Junior Adrit Raha advanced to the men's 55-meter dash finals for the first time in his Knox career, placing 6th in 6.72 seconds. Raha had improved his PR in the Friday prelims with a time of 6.67, making him the 2nd-fastest Knox man at the distance. Sophomore Ryan Arch placed 7th in the 55m high hurdles after posting an indoor PR of 8.43 in Friday's prelim heat. Freshman Kevin Megli placed 7th in the pole vault (11'9") to round out the men's individual scoring, while Hackman and Dust each contributed points in the women's 800, finishing 6th (2:29) and 7th (2:30) respectively in the fast heat. All eight Knox relays added team points, led by the women's sprint medley team of Larsen, Hackman, Irene Podrobinok and Andrea Tait who combined forces to place 4th at 4:29.06, the second-fastest time in team history. The women also placed 6th in the 4x200 (1:53.02), 5th in the 4x400 (4:16.86) and 6th in the distance medley. The Knox men placed 6th in the 4x200 (1:35.20) and distance medley, 7th in the sprint medley and 8th in the 4x400.

February 21 — Knox Invitational [men 6th of 11, women 7th of 12]

The indoor track and field teams finished their regular season at home with the February 21 Knox Invitational and posted 34 PR performances in their final meet prior to the MWC Indoor Championships. Rachel Spiegel continued to improve her own school record in the triple jump, tacking another five inches to her previous best with a leap of 34'1.50". She also recorded a new career-best distance in the long jump (16'7.5"), the best mark in the conference this season. She placed 4th and 3rd in the respective events, trailing only entries from Division-I Western Illinois. Ben Loy's best throw of 46'11.5" placed the senior 2nd in the men's shot put, and he also added over a foot to his previous PR in the 35-pound weight (41'5"). Jenny Larsen scored in two individual events with season-best efforts, running 27.71 at 200m (5th) and jumping 15'11" in the long jump (8th). Both women's sprint relays posted their fastest times of the season, the 4x400 unit clocking 4:16.30 (5th best all-time) for 2nd place and the 4x200 team ran 1:54.58 for 4th. Larsen and Irene Podrobinok each ran on both relays, teaming with Amy Thompson and Andrea Tait in the 4x2 and Ellie Dust and Michelle Hackman in the 4x4. Hackman sliced another second off her indoor PR at 800m , placing 7th in 2:27.85, while Dust placed 6th in the high jump (4'6"). Freshman Zoe Berman cut 10 seconds off her time in the 1500m, placing 8th in 5:33.17, while Sarah Wallen (9'3") and Katie Harring (8'3") each turned in season-best clearances in the pole vault. The men's 4x200 team of Christopher Johnson, Zarir DeVitre, Kevin Megli and Glenn Prout also ran their best time of the year (1:37.08). Johnson (24.17, 5th) and Megli (24.28, 8th) added points in the open 200m, and freshman John Solymossy placed 6th in the 3000m (10:06). Drew Parsons ran 5th at 5000m, and the 4x400 team of Tyler Swafford, Donnie Forti, Juan Cruz and Johnson closed out the scoring with an 8th-place effort.

February 14 at Monmouth [men 8th of 14, women 8th of 13]

Thirty-four season and 19 collegiate PR performances were turned in by Knox entries at the February 14 Fighting Scot Invitational as the Prairie Fire continue their preparation for the MWC Conference Championships in three weeks. Rachel Spiegel matched her own school record in the triple jump (33' 8 3/4"), while the sprint medley team of Adrit Raha, Zarir DeVitre, Tyler Swafford and Erik DeLapp just missed the men's indoor mark by a second. The sprint medley unit ran 3:49.16, the second-fastest time in team history, and their runner-up finish was the highest Knox placing of the meet. Ben Loy (47'7", SP) and Erick Burton (14'0", PV) each claimed third-place points in their specialty event, and Drew Parsons ran 5th at 3000 meters (9:47). Sarah Wallen's clearance of 9'0" tied her for third place in the women's pole vault, and Spiegel added a 6th in the long jump (indoor PR 16' 2 1/2") to her 5th-place effort in the triple jump. Senior Ellie Dust had the best all-around meet for Knox, posting an indoor PR in the high jump (4'8", 5th), clocking her fastest 800m in three years (2:30.83) and running the fastest split (64.8) on the 5th-place 4x400 relay. Michelle Hackman placed 6th in the 800 meters, running an indoor PR of 2:28.27, and also ran on the 4x4. Andrea Tait contributed to three scoring relays, leading off the 7th-place sprint medley (4:45) and 8th-place 4x200 (1:59) and anchoring the 4x400. Casey Moore, Rebekah Richardson and Amy Thompson each ran on two of the sprint relay teams.

February 7 — UW-Oshkosh Invitational [women 3rd of 10, men 7th of 10]

The Prairie Fire women placed 3rd behind the host Titans and Midwest Conference rival Carroll at the 10-team UW-Oshkosh Invitational on February 7, defeating four MWC North teams in the process. Knox placed 7th in the men's division but finished only 14 points out of fourth. Junior Rachel Spiegel was the top Knox performer, winning the triple jump with a school-record leap of 33' 8 3/4" and placing second in the long jump with a season-best 15'11" effort. Spiegel, who had tied the previous indoor triple jump mark of 33'1" [Trisha Hickey, 1994] a week ago, saved her best for last, winning the event on her final attempt. Jenny Larsen's indoor PR of 1:01.56 placed the senior 4th in the 400m and was the team's highest individual finish on the track. Larsen also placed 6th in the 200m (28.07) and ran a 61.6 leadoff leg on the 3rd-place 4x400 relay (season best 4:19.91 with Michelle Hackman, Andrea Tait and Irene Podrobinok). Sarah Wallen's season PR of 9'2" tied for 6th in the pole vault, and seniors Miranda Higdon and Margaret Fleetwood each posted career indoor PRs to place 4-5 in the 5000m. Amy Thompson and Hackman went 5-6 in the 800m to round out the women's scoring. Ben Loy placed 3rd with a season PR throw in the shot put (47'1 3/4") and Erick Burton's clearance of 13'8 1/4" was good for a 4th-place tie in the pole vault. Junior Adrit Raha placed in both the 55m (6th) and 200m (season best 23.63, 5th), and Drew Parsons finished 8th in the 5000m with a season-best 16:41. The 4x200 relay team of Ryan Arch, Juan Cruz, Donnie Forti and Jeremiah Lockett ran 1:42.14 and earned 7th-place points for Knox.

January 31 — Midwest Pentagular at Monmouth

Rachel Spiegel's record-tying performance led the Prairie Fire track and field teams at Monmouth on January 31 as Knox helped its MWC rival christen its new indoor track. Central, Illinois Wesleyan and Augustana were also in attendance at the non-scored meet. Spiegel's best effort of 33'1" in the triple jump tied Trisha Hickey's nine-year-old indoor mark and is the third-best performance by an MWC athlete this season. Senior Jenny Larsen ran 2nd at 400m (1:03.24) for the Fire's highest individual finish, and teammates Irene Podrobinok (1:05.8), Michelle Hackman (1:06.49) and Andrea Tait (1:07.03) placed 4-6-8 in the same event. Miranda Higdon's career indoor PR time of 21:50 was good for third in the 5000m, and the 4x400 team of Larsen, Hackman, Podrobinok and junior Casey Moore placed 3rd with a season-best 4:21.65. Moore and Hackman had earlier joined with Ellie Dust and Zoe Berman for 4th place in the distance medley with a time of 13:52.59, the 4th-fastest in team history. Freshman Erin Donaldson added another foot to her career PR in the 20-pound weight throw (35'1") to capture 4th-place points and junior Colleen Bohlin threw a lifetime best 34'2" for 6th place. Ben Loy (shot, 46'4") and Erick Burton (pole vault, 13'0") each claimed high place honors for the men with respective 3rd-place efforts. Juan Cruz' indoor PR in the 400 (56.54) led a Knox 4-5-6 finish, and senior co-captain Christopher Johnson ran a leg on each of the Fire's three 5th-place relay squads (4x2, 4x4 and distance medley).

January 24 — Knox Indoor Quad

The Prairie Fire track and field teams responded to their first home meet of the season with another round of solid performances at the Knox Indoor Quad. Despite finishing fourth in both divisions, Knox has definitely closed the gap to all three schools present at the meet. Two Fire men were individual winners—Erick Burton in the pole vault (14'0") and Ben Loy in the shot put (46'4.5"). Both efforts were season PRs, with Burton moving to #2 on the all-time Knox indoor list and equalling the third-best jump in indoor team history. Each athlete also added 5th-place points in a second event, Burton jumping 20'9" (9th best all-time) in the long jump and Loy heaving the 35-pound weight a career-best 38'11". Drew Parsons ran 2nd in the 3000m (9:47), and freshman Kevin Megli's 12'0" clearance in the pole vault was good for runner-up honors behind Burton. Junior Adrit Raha claimed a sprint scoring double, racing to 3rd at 200m (24.00) and 4th at 55m (6.78), and Tyler Swafford added a 3rd-place effort in the 600. Both men's relay entries (4x400 and sprint medley) claimed 4th places. Junior Sarah Wallen's 2nd-place vault of 9'0" led the women, and classmate Katie Harring claimed 3rd with a new indoor PR of 8'6". Ellie Dust and Wallen finished 3-4 in the high jump, and Knox also went 3-4 in the long jump as Rachel Spiegel (15'11') and Jenny Larsen (15'10.75") each posted season bests. Larsen placed 3rd at 200m (28.22) and 4th at 55m (7.79), while Spiegel posted a career indoor PR of 32'10.5" to place 4th in the triple jump. In her first ever track race, freshman Zoe Berman led a quartet of Prairie Fire runners in the 3000 with a 5th-place time of 12:20. Knox also advanced three athletes in the 55m hurdles, freshman Chelsea Bagot running 5th in the women's race and Mark Addonizio and Ryan Arch placing 5-8 in the men's final.

January 17 at UW-Platteville Open (Platteville, WI)

The 2004 indoor track and field season kicked off at the UW-Platteville Open with a partial squad of Prairie Fire athletes in competition. The non-scored meet featured entries from nine schools from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. First-place efforts were turned in by senior distance runners Miranda Higdon (5000m) and Michelle Hackman (1000m), while senior Erick Burton's second-place tie in the pole vault was the highest male finish. Burton increased his indoor PR from 12'6" to 13'3.5" and just missed on two attempts at 13'9", and also posted an indoor best in the long jump (18'6"). Junior Sarah Wallen placed 3rd in the women's vault with a clearance of 8'8", and senior co-captain Jenny Larsen turned in a pair of 4th-place performances in the long jump and 200m dash. Fifth-place efforts were posted by Drew Parsons (5000m) and the women's 4x200 and 4x400 relays, and sophomore Tyler Swafford added a 6th-place in the men's 1000m. Ben Loy finished 6th in the men's shot put (46'0"), while freshman Erin Donaldson advanced to the finals in both throwing events, placing 7th in the shot (35'3") and 8th in the weight (33'0").