Spartans Track & Field Continues to Improve at Monmouth
May 3, 2014 | J.Crane
MONMOUTH, ILLIONOIS - The University of Dubuque Track & Field teams continued their upward trend of success in the outdoor season with numerous personal best performances and three school records at the Monmouth College Fighting Scots Invitational. The Spartans Brenda Breimon (Oconomowoc, Wis./ Slinger), Katelyn Herbig (Aurora, Ill./ Aurora Central), and Conner Hirt (Hainesville, Ill./ Grayslake Central) all broke their own school records on Saturday. The UD men finished third of 11 teams while the women took fifth of 11 teams. The Spartans will now turn their attention to the Iowa Conference Outdoor Championships next weekend at Luther.
2014 Monmouth Outdoor Final Results
A pair of Spartan men moved atop the Iowa Conference (IIAC) performance list with outstanding performances at 400 meters. Senior Evan Zurbuchen (Hollandale, Wis./Madison West) won the 400m Hurdles in 54.95 seconds, the second best time all-time at UD and fastest in the IIAC this season. Fellow senior Ryan Mattingly (Janesville, Iowa/Janesville) finished third in the 400m Dash with an IIAC season best of 50.00 seconds. The UD men finished 3-4 in the 100m Dash with Kyle Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Bloom) narrowly edging Rick Valcin (Catries, St. Lucia/Gros Islet) by 0.01 seconds for third place at 11.04.
The Spartans top field events performance came from Zach Ahrens (LeClaire, Iowa/Pleasant Valley) with a first place javelin throw of 51.67m (169"-6.0"). Freshman Jeremy Lawson (Lake Isabella, Calif./Kern Valley) took fourth in the javelin. Hirt broke his own school record in the hammer throw with a distance of 48.02m (157'-6.0") in the second to last throw of the day to take third place. High jumper DuVaun Goodlow (Joliet, Ill./Plainfield Central) was third clearing 2.02m (6'-7.5").
Field events were especially successful for UD with Nickolette McKenzie (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Fremd) leading the way with a first place performance in the triple jump and third place finish in the long jump. Breimon upped her school record height in the pole vault to 3.26m (10'-8.25") in a third place performance. Herbig also added to her school record in the hammer throw with a toss of 44.45m (145'-10.0").
Freshman Fabiola Ortiz (Elgin, Ill./St. Charles North) ran the second fastest 1,500m Run in school history at 4:53.18 on her way to fourth place. The UD women's 4x100m Relay team of McKenzie, Jasmine Bethea (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg), Tieisha Starks (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan), and Brittany Burns (Beloit, Wis./Beloit Memorial) finished second at 49.56 seconds.
UP NEXT: The Spartans will complete in the 2014 Iowa Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Luther College. The three-day championships will begin with the multi-event competition on Thursday, May 8th. Live Video of the championships is available beginning at 3:00 pm on Friday from Luther at: Live IIAC Track Video
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