Final Results |
Photo Gallery (370 Pictures)
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – For the fourth consecutive season, the University of Indianapolis has captured both the men’s and women’s crowns at the Great Lakes Valley Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which took place May 3-4 at Lewis Field on the campus of Lewis University in Romeoville, Ill. The UIndy men have now won a GLVC-record six outdoor titles, including the last four, while the women have won the last five championships at the annual event, which extends their conference-best total to seven since the GLVC began sponsoring the sport in 1996.
The Greyhound men scored a 44.5-point margin of victory Saturday night over runner-up Missouri S&T, outscoring the Miners 165.50-121. Southern Indiana (107) finished third, while McKendree (105) impressed with a fourth-place finish at their first ever conference championship meet. Host Lewis (95) was fifth, followed by Bellarmine (64.5), Saint Joseph’s (54), UW-Parkside (42), William Jewell (33), Drury (18), and Maryville (14) to round out the field.
Two conference records were broken on Saturday’s final day of action as UIndy scored a new league mark in the 4x100-meter relay with a time of 40.26. In fact, McKendree’s runner-up time of 40.68 also eclipsed the previous best, which was held by Lewis (41.20) in 2005. The Bearcats’ Andrew Ellison also set a new GLVC mark in the discus of 52.99 meters, which topped the former mark of 52.19, set by UIndy’s Brian Evans in 1996.
Among the other highlights in the men’s field, McKendree’s Jordon Henderson retained the rights of being the fastest man in the conference after picking up the 100-meter title (10.55) following his 60-meter crown at the GLVC Indoor Track and Field Championships. Two schools picked up perfect 1-2-3 sweeps in a pair of events. Indianapolis’ Joshua Bridwell (15.68), Shane Wyant (14.67), and Tom Lovejoy (13.79) placed 1-2-3 in the shot put, while Missouri S&T swept the podium in the pole vault. Ryan McGuire (4.75) tied teammate Cody Durand (4.75) for first-place honors and Alec Hackett secured third with a mark of 4.45 meters.
On the women’s side, the Greyhounds accumulated 197.5 points, which were the most scored by a winning UIndy team since racking up 218 en route to the 2010 GLVC crown. Bellarmine scored 180 points to finish second, making the 17.5-point differential the fourth-closest margin of victory in the history of the championships and the tightest gap since SIU Edwardsville topped Indianapolis, 246-230, in 2006. Lewis (116), Saint Joseph’s (71) and Missouri S&T (66.5) rounded out the top five, while positions 6-11 consisted of Drury (43), William Jewell (39), Southern Indiana (38), McKendree (33.5), Maryville (25), UW-Parkside (9.5).
Highlights from the women’s action today included a new conference record in the 100-meter high hurdles and four individual school sweeps for the top-three positions.
UIndy’s Camille Edwards set a new GLVC mark at 14.10 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles, which bettered the previous mark of 14.33, SIU Edwardsville’s Valerie Simmons in 2007.
Bellarmine, Indianapolis and Missouri S&T were all represented in the event sweeps on Saturday. The Knights’ Angela Musk (4:36.07), Flannery Musk (4:46.01), Emily Frith (4:46.91) and Jenna Lee (4:47.41) went 1-2-3-4 in the 1,500-meter run, while Missouri S&T’s Taylor Cipicchio (3.56m), Molly Clement (3.41) and Rachel Ederle (3.41) placed in the top-three spots in the women’s pole vault.
Indianapolis also had a trio of winners in the high jump and women’s shot put. The Hounds had Kelly Walter (1.68m), Kylie Ballard (1.63) and Sydney Weinert (1.63) in positions No. 1-3 in the high jump, while Farin Hickman (13.02), Carlynn Carter (12.93), and Kathleen Watson (12.65) took home gold, silver and bronze in the shot put.
Bellarmine freshman Kaysee O’Bannon also captured the 100- and 200-meter titles and became the coaches’ pick for 2013 GLVC Outdoor Freshman of the Year. She is the second BU runner to ever earn the league’s top newcomer award and the first since Denasha Moody was recognized in 2007.
In addition to O’Bannon’s win, Drury’s Erin Dolan was tabbed GLVC Track Athlete of the Year to become the first-ever Drury track honoree in GLVC history. She shattered the 10,000-meter conference mark on Friday and responded with a runner-up finish in the 5,000 meters on Saturday. UIndy’s Hickman was selected GLVC Field Athlete of the Year following a first-place result in both the hammer and discus, as well as a fourth in the discus. Her mentor, Scott Fangman, earned his third GLVC Coach of the Year in the past four years.
Fangman was also tabbed as the league’s Coach of the Year on the men’s side – an honor he has earned a conference-best six times. A few of his pupils also received major postseason accolades as voted on by the coaches. Robert Gardner III was named the GLVC Track Athlete of the Year following wins in the 400 meters, 4x100-meter relay, and 4x400-meter relay. This is the third such award for Gardner as he was also honored as the Track Athlete of the Year in 2010 and Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2013.
UIndy’s Joshua Bass , a winner in the long jump, tied with Bellarmine’s Ben Kolb, who reached the NCAA Qualifying standard en route to a win the decathlon, to share GLVC co-Field Athlete of the Year. Bass is the first GLVC Field Athlete of the Year since Matt Royer was tabbed in 2012, while Kolb garners the first honor for BU since Elliott Matingly in 2011.
GLVC Freshman of the Year accolades belonged to USI’s Johnnie Guy, who captured the 5,000 meters on Saturday and finished third in the 1,500, which earned him the respect of the coaches in the voting process. Guy, who was also the GLVC Freshman of the Year for the indoor season, is the first Screaming Eagle newcomer to earn the outdoor accolade since Dustin Emerick in 2009.
MEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR: Scott Fangman, Indianapolis
MEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Robert Gardner III, Indianapolis
MEN’S co-FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Joshua Bass, Indianapolis & Ben Kolb, Bellarmine
MEN’S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Johnnie Guy, Southern Indiana
WOMEN’S COACH OF THE YEAR: Scott Fangman, Indianapolis
WOMEN’S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Erin Dolan, Drury
WOMEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Farin Hickman, Indianapolis
WOMEN’S FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Kaysee O’Bannon, Bellarmine