Women Track in Top 25, Gunning For Monmouth

The SNC women's track and field began their 2010 season at the UW-Whitewater Invitational and had promising finishes from the usual suspects and some up-and-coming student athletes. First-years Calli Nonnemacher and Danielle Allen each performed well, with Nonnemacher winning the 200-meter dash in 28.44 seconds and Allen earning first place in the long jump with a distance of 5.04 meters. Meanwhile, sophomore Megan Domnick finished first in the 400-meter dash in 1:05.63, and sophomore Emily Schudrowitz won the 600-meter run in 1:34.14. A relay team consisting of Domnick, first-year Andrea Bosman, sophomore Danielle Krause and junior Anne Mueller won the 4x200-meter relay in a time of 1:57.39.Senior Jenny Scherer, first-year Amanda Whipple and Schudrowitz each had very solid finishes at the Gladstein Invitational at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN, following the Warhawk Opener. There the Knights competed with schools such as the University of Miami (Ohio), Indiana University, Ball State and the University of Cincinnati. Most notably, Schudrowitz qualified for the NCAA Division III Indoor Championship in the 800-meter run. That competition will be will be held March 12-13 in Greencastle, IN. The Wauwatosa, WI, born student athlete is running consistent races and doesn't look to be slowing down. She has also been competing in other events such as the 200, 400, and 600-meter runs.

Following the premier invite at Indiana University, SNC competed at the Northern Michigan University Northern Challenge. There, first-year Lindsay Wiebe won the high jump by clearing1.63 meters. Krause was second in the pole vault, clearing a height of 2.59 meters.

As you can see, the Knights are stacked with underclassmen. Even with the loss of last year's senior and national champion Ashley Graybill, a good group of senior leaders have motivated this talented group of women . Krause mentions that she looks to junior Nikki Swanson and senior Marisa Trakanovich as some leaders on the squad.

"They both went through injury and work very hard even though they are in pain," she said. "They push through to better themselves. Nikki and Marisa were both on the 4x400 meter relay team that made it to indoor nationals last year, which just shows how hard they work. I look up to both of them and hope to be as good of a competitor one day."

At UW-Stevens Point, the Knights competed last at the Pointer Invitational. Scherer finished second in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:19.90. Allen continued to show success by getting third in the 55-meter hurdles and winning both the long jump and the triple jump.

Scherer has really bought into the system here at SNC and has improved every season since arriving here her freshman year. With her past finishes among some serious national competition, it is obvious that she has had some individual success. Because this athlete does not simply think about herself, she is the true definition of a team player.

So what does a senior who currently holds the mile, 3,000-meter, and 5,000-meter indoor records have as a goal? Scherer's personal goal is to win the Midwest Conference (MWC) Indoor Championship. This would be an achievement compiled of both Scherer and all of the student athletes on Coach Don Augustine's team.

In order for the Knights to achieve this goal, they will have to knock off the perennial power that is Monmouth College. The Scots have taken the MWC conference championship 13 out of the past 16 years. Their head track coach, Roger Haynes, has been very successful in his 26 years at the college. The women return five conference champions from the 2009 seasons and have strong competition in the middle-level runs and jumps.

"The difference from this year to last year is the addition of multiple coaches," said Krause. "We have a lot of help this year which is awesome. It helps Coach [Augustine]; then he can focus on his events and the others can help out in their specific events as well. This will have a large influence on how well we do this season."

The women are currently ranked No. 21 in the Division III indoor rankings. This is the first time that the Knights have been ranked within the top 25. Leading the nation is Illinois Wesleyan.