Illinois Wesleyan Track and Field Stories 2009

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February 14
The Illinois Wesleyan women’s team finished first and the men’s team placed sixth in the eight team Fighting Scots indoor track invitational held at Monmouth College on Saturday, Feb. 14. The women amassed 170 points to outdistance second place Washington U. with 101.5 and earned seven individual first place finishes, including two from Amanda LaRocca (long jump and 55 hurdles in a school record and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 8.08 seconds). Ali McCoy (400), Mackenzie Clemens (800 in a school record and NCAA automatic qualifying time), Kerry Devitt (school record in the mile), Gaby Johnson (high jump) and Erin Moran (triple jump) were individual winners along with the 4x400 relay team. Posting NCAA provisonal qualifying standards were LaRocca's long jump, Moran in the pole vault (second place finish), Shavanty Thomas and Caitlin Eskew in the 55, and Devitt in the mile. For the men, Andrew Petro won the shot put, Alex Lambert took first in the pole vault and Darien West had a first in the weight throw with a school record and NCAA provisional qualifying mark. The IWU men earned 58.33 points as Wis.-LaCrosse placed first as a team with 137 points.

February 6-7
At the annual Keck Invitational, the Illinois Wesleyan women's team finished first (of 14) and the men's team was fifth (of 13) at the Shirk Center on Saturday, February 7. In the February 6 pentathlon competition, Amanda LaRocca placed first with three school records and three NCAA qualifying marks - in the pentathlon (3431 points, automatic), the 55 hurdles (8.11 seconds, automatic), and high jump (5 feet-7, provisional). For the men, John Maloney was third in the pentathlon with 3245 points. In the February 7 meet, the IWU women amassed 140.5 points as second place Washington U. had 95. Ali McCoy was a dual winner, taking both the 200 (25.12) and 400 (59.44), and Mackenzie Clemens won the 800 (2:18.56). Gaby Johnson won the high jump at 5 feet-3 3/4 inches and Chinny Ekwulugo's winning triple jump of 37 feet-3 1/4 inches is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. The Wesleyan men scored 62.5 points as Monmouth claimed first with 89.5. Noah Dunham earned first place in the 800 (1:57.94) and Darien West got first in the weight throw (53 feet-6 1/2 inches).

January 31
The Illinois Wesleyan men’s and women’s track teams both took first place finishes at the Titan Open, held at the Shirk Center on Saturday, Jan. 31. The Titan women had 150.33 points to finish first of 14 teams while the men had 58.5 points to finish first of 19. IWU women accounted for five first place finishes, including two wins from Amanda LaRocca, who took the 55 meters (7.19 seconds) and 55 hurdles (8.26). Other Titan women winners were Shavanty Thomas in the 200 (25.63), Kerry Devitt in the 5000 (18:02.59) and Ali McCoy in the 400 (57.80), where Mackenzie Clemens and Lauren Alpert finished second and third. The IWU women’s 4x400 relay team placed first in a time of 3:56.41. Wally Farris was the winner in the men’s 3000 with a time of 8:53.17 and Alex Lambert scaled a height of 15 feet-4 ¼ inches to win the pole vault. IWU hosts a pentathlon meet on Friday at 4 p.m. and the Keck Invitational (with the seniors being honored at 11:45 a.m.) will be Saturday, Feb. 7 (meet beginning at 10 a.m.).

January 24
Eight women finished first as the Illinois Wesleyan women's track team finished first in the five-team Monmouth Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 24. The IWU men's team amassed 91 points and finished third of five teams as two Titans earned first place finishes. For the women, who collected 240 points to best second place Augustana with 185.5 points, winners were Amanda LaRocca (55 meters), Ali McCoy (200), Jessica Christy (300), Mackenzie Clemens (800), Kerry Devitt (mile), Gaby Johnson (high jump), Lauren Alpert (long jump), and Chinny Ekwulugo (triple jump), along with the 4x400 relay team. Aaron Ball was a winner in the men's 200 and Noah Dunham took first in the 800. Augustana (282) and Monmouth (183.5) finished ahead of IWU. Wesleyan will host the Titan Open next Saturday, Jan. 31, beginning at 10 a.m. at the Shirk Center.

January 16
The Illinois Wesleyan women’s track team defeated Washington U., 78-66, and the men’s team finished third of four at the Rose-Hulman Double Dual in Terre Haute, Ind., on Friday, Jan. 16. The Titan men amassed 104 points and trailed Washington U. (135) and the host school (105) while beating Wabash (88). Nine first places were claimed by IWU women, including two from Kyla Motz (shot put and weight throw) and Amanda LaRocca (60 dash and 60 hurdles). LaRocca’s time in the 60 hurdles was a school record and an automatic NCAA qualifier. Other first places came from Mackenzie Clemens (provisional qualifier in 800), Lauren Albert (long jump), Gaby Johnson (high jump), Ashley Heilengoetter (mile) and Ali McCoy (400). Kerry Devitt finished third in the 3000 with a school record time of 10:30.04. Darien West set a men’s indoor school mark with a weight throw of 57 feet-7 3.4 inches while Noah Dunham (800), Aaron Ball (400) and Alex Lambert (pole vault) also finished first. Titan teams are next at the Monmouth Invitational on Saturday, Jan. 24.

January 2009
Mackenzie Clemens' Blog for NCAA
Illinois Wesleyan junior Mackenzie Clemens is one of seven athletes nationally writing a frequently-updated blog for the NCAA this winter. Clemens, a Bloomington, Ill., High School product, is joined by athletes from, among others, Duke (Gerald Henderson, men's basketball), Harvard (fencing) and New York University (Grace Carmen, women's basketball). Clemens, a team captain this season, finished third in the 800 at the 2008 national indoor meet and ran a leg on the champion 4x400 relay team as IWU won the national indoor women's title and tied for first in the national outdoor championships last spring.

December 5
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's track teams accumulated 18 first place finishes in a triangular meet with Millikin and North Park at the Shirk Center on Friday, Dec. 5. The men got firsts from Mike Conti (300), Max Lustick (mile), Noah Dunham (800), Adam Chambers (3000), Alex Lambert (pole vault) and Aaron Massey (triple jump). Double winners for the women included Kyla Motz in the shot put and weight throw and Lauren Alpert in the long jump and the 300. Shavanty Thomas (55), Caitlin Eskew (200), Kathryn Kohles (mile), Mackenzie Clemens (600), Amy Burns (3000), Amanda LaRocca (55 hurdles), Gaby Johnson (high jump) and Erin Moran (pole vault) were the other IWU women winners. Wesleyan's next indoor action will be the IWU Intrasquad on January 10 at the Shirk Center.

November 14
The Illinois Wesleyan men's and women's indoor track teams will open their 2008-09 season with a traingular meet on Friday, December 5 at the Shirk Center. The Titans will host indoor meets on January 10 and 31, February 6 and 7, and the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin indoor championships will be held at IWU February 26-27. Last March the Titan women's team picked up the school's first NCAA women's national championship at the indoor championships. The Titan women tied for the outdoor title with Wisconsin-River Falls.