Men's Track & Field Succeed in Fours

The men's track and field team started on a steady pace, even with competitions at some colleges larger than SNC. At their first meet, the men got a sense of their abilities against the likes of Beloit College, Lawrence University, UW-Oshkosh and the host UW-Whitewater. The Knights claimed the 4x200-meter relay with first-year Tyler Seidl, sophomore Ryan Ascher, junior Dann Schneider and senior Ham Dowden. "Big-school meets are always fun to run," said Dowden. "The competition is great in the Midwest Conference (MWC), but the experience of running at Madison and Marquette is irreplaceable. We're really looking forward to showing some of the bigger schools what kind of talent small schools like SNC can bring to the table. With national-caliber athletes like Dann Schneider and Emily Schudrowitz leading the way, it'll be hard to overlook SNC at those meets."

Following the Warhawk Invite at UW-Whitewater, the Knights marched into the Superior Dome at Northern Michigan University looking to make some progress. It was an overall successful meet in terms of the entire team. Though the invite was not scored, senior Tony Dionne shot put 13.73 meters and threw 13.05 meters in the weight throw for a first place finish in both events. Senior Mackenzie Laska won the mile in 4:33:42 and relay teams won two other events. First, the 4x200-meter relay event fell to first-year Kirk Fishel, junior David Mason, senior Paul Leeman and Dowden. The 4x400-meter relay was also won with a team of Ascher, junior Steve Schumacher, Dowden and Laska.

At the first scored meet of the year, the Pointer Invitational at UW-Stevens Point, SNC represented the forest green and gold by placing second. The meet welcomed SNC, Ripon College, St. Scholastica and Lawrence among its own competitors.

The Knights continued their success in the relay events with wins in the 4x200-meter, 4x400-meter and the distance medley relay. Junior Jordan Gobert won the team 10 points by winning the pole vault with a score of 3.95 meters.

"I am just recuperating from an ankle injury, but God has given me the strength to keep moving forward," said Gobert. "I am now able to compete, so things are looking great."

The addition of the Schneider Athletic Complex in the upcoming year will drastically change both the men and women's track careers for the better. More than just a football field and stadium, the 400-meter polyurethane track will allow many more exciting possibilities than the previous track at Dr. John Minahan Stadium.

Gobert is extremely enthusiastic for the new complex and believes it is going to have a positive impact on the program.

"It is especially good for our field events because we have not had the opportunity to practice at a good outdoor facility in the past," he said. "Now all that will be changed for the better."

Dowden, despite being a senior and planning to graduate before the Schneider Athletic Complex is completed, is excited to see the complex bring events and even success to the program in the future.

"As far as I understand, the complex will definitely be capable of hosting meets. It'll be a few years before we host the Wisconsin Private or MWC Championships, but the college is doing it right," he said. "I'm really excited to be able to come back and watch the team compete at home. Not having a long bus ride before your meet and having a big fan base to cheer you on really helps you perform. I think the facility is going to help the team do big things in the future.