Track & Field Releases 2010-2011 Schedule

The Hannibal-LaGrange College Track & Field team has announced their schedule for the 2010-2011 indoor & outdoor season. The team kicks off the year in style, traveling to Ames, Iowa to compete in the Iowa State University Holiday Preview on December 10. That meet follows the Midland Lutheran Half-Marathon where a handful on Trojan distance runners, including 2010 national qualifier Philiph Tonui, will attempt to attain the NAIA National qualifying mark for the marathon.

Track & Field Schedule

2010-2011

Date	Event	Location	Time
INDOOR SEASON
12/4/10	Midland Lutheran Half-Marathon	Fremont, NE	TBD
12/10/10	Iowa State University	Ames, IA	TBD
1/14-15/11	SIU-Carbondale	Carbondale, IL	TBD
1/15/11	Missouri Valley College	Marshall, MO	TBD
1/22/11	Illinois College	Jacksonville, IL	TBD
1/29/11	Illinois Wesleyan University	Bloomington, IL	TBD
2/5/10	Illinois College	Jacksonville, IL	TBD
2/19/11	AMC Indoor T&F Championships	Columbia, MO	TBD
3/3-5/11	NAIA Indoor T&F National Championships	Geneva, OH	TBD
OUTDOOR SEASON
3/19/11	Central Methodist University	Fayette, MO	TBD
3/25-26/11	Missouri Relays	Columbia, MO	TBD
4/1-2/11	Washington University	St. Louis, MO	TBD
4/10/11	Central Methodist University	Fayette, MO	TBD
4/16/11	Millikin University	Decatur, IL	TBD
4/19/11	Illinois College	Jacksonville, IL	TBD
4/21-23/11	Kansas Relays	Lawrence, KS	TBD
4/23/11	SIU-Edwardsville	Edwardsville, IL	TBD
4/29-30/11	AMC Outdoor T&F Championships	Lebanon, IL	TBD
5/7/11	Last Chance Qualifier	TBD	TBD
5/26-26/10	NAIA Outdoor T&F National Championships	Marion, IN	TBD

The cross country team is back in action this Saturday, as they will travel to Fayette, MO to compete in the Gary Stoner Invitational.

Breanna Named AMC Runner of the Week!

Breanna Newton

On Tuesday, HLG freshman standout Breanna Newton (Rochelle, IL), was named the American Midwest Conference's Women's Runner of the Week for the week of September 20, 2010. Breanna was honored with this award after her school record performance in last weekend's Missouri Southern Stampede, where she completed the 5K course in 18:35.

Breanna and the rest of her HLG teammates will be back in action on October 9 at the Gary Stoner Invitational in Fayette, MO.

New School Record Highlights Effort at Southern Stampede

The HLG cross country team made their longest trip of the season over the weekend as they traveled to Joplin, MO to compete in the 22nd annual Southern Stampede. The meet, which was hosted by Missouri Southern State University, featured numerous NAIA and NCAA nationally ranked schools and the competition brought out the best in a number of the HLG runners.

THE WOMEN
RESULTS
The women ran to a 27th place finish at the Stampede and their effort was highlighted by the performance of freshman Breanna Newton, who completed the 5K course in a school record time of 18:35. Breanna's effort earned her a 33rd place finish out of 302 competitors. In addition, she was the 4th place NAIA finisher and top NAIA freshman performer in the talented field. Freshman Mandi Riddle had a strong performance, as the newcomer to cross country continued her rapid improvement by finishing the race in a time of 20:56. Mandi's time was a nearly two-minute improvement from last week's race. Sophomores Jessica Bailey (22:19) and Sarah Erickson (22:40), both trying to overcome early season injuries, finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, for the Lady Trojans, while freshman newcomer Amber Zinkula had a strong showing in her first collegiate meet, crossing the line in 22:42 and earning the 5th place team finish. HLG also got strong efforts from sophomore Liz Wilder (23:04) and Carissa Eichmeyer (23:39).

COACH COMMENTS: The ladies came out today and showed a lot of effort and heart. Obviously Breanna had a great race and was rewarded with the new school record time. What also impressed me was the improvement of some of our newcomers to XC. What many people don't realize is that Mandi, Liz, and Amber are all new to cross country this year and they are all in our top-seven. They continue to show great improvements each week and I expect that to continue. We are still struggling with some injuries that are holding us back from reaching our potential as a team but we are starting to progress and, with three weeks of training before our next meet, we are going to be able to really focus on getting better, faster, and tougher.

THE MEN
RESULTS
The men's team overcame some adversity to bring home a 20th-place finish at the meet. Junior Philiph Tonui had an outstanding day, earning a 19th place finish with a time of 25:02, just one second off of his own school record time. The team lost #2 runner Brett Jones who was unable to complete the race due to the extreme heat but senior Jason Cline stepped up and raced to a time of 28:38, just a few seconds off of his personal best. Freshman Tyler Malone finished 3rd for the Trojans (29:00) with junior Deon Russell (30:01) and sophomore Ben Griffin (30:34) rounding out the scoring effort.

COACH COMMENTS: It was kind of a hard-luck day for the guys today. Brett was having a great race before the heat got to him and Ben's time was adversely affected because he stopped to check on his teammate, which was the right thing to do. With that said, I think that both Philiph and Jason ran fantastic races and were rewarded with great finishing times. Deon has been battling injures and is not in race shape, so I was proud of how he came out and competed. Once he gets healthy he is really going to help us out. To have all of the adversity today and still be just behind some of our conference rivals, I feel pretty good about where we are. We'll use the upcoming break from competition to crank up the intensity with training and get these guys ready to be their best down the home stretch.

The team has a few weeks to prepare for their next competition, which takes place October 9 at Central Methodist University.

HLG Men and Women Victorious at Home Invite

Philiph Tonui and Breanna Newton racing to victory at the 2010 HLG Invitational

On a tough course made even more difficult by three inches of rain that fell the night before, the Hannibal-LaGrange cross country teams pushed through and gained victories at the 2nd annual Hannibal-LaGrange Invitational on Saturday.

THE WOMEN
RESULTS
The women boasted 5 top-ten finishes on the day en route to a winning team score of 17 points on the day. Freshman Breanna Newton earned her first race victory as a collegiate athlete, finishing the grueling 5K in a time of 21:11. Fellow freshman Mandi Riddle continued her rapid improvement, placing 3rd overall, with sophomore teammate Jessica Bailey right behind in 4th place. Sophomore Liz Wilder also raced well in her first collegiate 5K, finishing in 7th place. Sophomore Sarah Erickson also collected a top-10 finish, taking the 9th spot overall. Carissa Eichmeyer (11th), Bryanna Reynolds (16th), and Chelsea Holmstrom (17th) also contributed strong efforts for the Lady Trojans. Assistant Coach Beth Scott took to the course and placed second overall in the race.

THE MEN
RESULTS
The men cruised to victory on the heels of 6 top-10 finishes, including junior Philiph Tonui, who repeated as the meet champion. Philiph's 8K time of 28:10 was over two minutes ahead of teammate Brett Jones, whose second place finish was the highest of his XC career. Freshman Tyler Malone fared well in his first collegiate 8K, placing 4th, while senior Jason Cline (6th), Ben Griffin (7th), and Nathan Uding (8th) pushed each other throughout the race. Freshman Greg Stahlman made his debut and finished 16th overall.

COACH COMMENTS
It was a great day to be a part of the HLG family today. We are grateful that the Lord blessed us with health and safety today in what were rough field conditions. Both teams came out and competed very well today. If you were to look at the times today, you would wonder what happened but, let me tell you, our home course is the toughest we will run all season. Add that to the fact that we got several inches of rain the night before, and that makes for treacherous conditions. Footing was very difficult throughout the course and the times reflected that. However, we said going in that our goal was to be at the front of the pack and to run aggressively and that is exactly what we did.

Both Breanna and Philiph dominated their respective races but the rest of the team showed that they are also capable of making an impact. I thought that Brett Jones really stepped up today and was rewarded with a runner-up finish. Our girls are finally getting healthy and the trio of Mandi, Jessica, and Liz all had great races. After competing in these conditions, it sets the stage to hopefully head down to Joplin next week and really open it up on that course.

WHAT'S NEXT
The team will makes it's longest road trip of the season next weekend to take part in the prestigious Southern Stampede, hosted by Missouri Southern State University. Both the women's 5K and men's 8K will take place on the MSSU campus beginning at 9am on Saturday, September 18.

We want to extend a special thanks to everyone who came out today to support the team. It seemed like we had fans at every corner of the course and there was no doubt that it helped push the teams to victory!

Trojans Open Season at Big River Early Bird

RESULTS

The Hannibal-LaGrange cross country team kicked off the 2010 season by traveling to Forest Park in St. Louis for the Big River Running Early Bird meet.

THE MEN
The men's team put out a strong opening effort to finish 9th out of 16 collegiate teams in the meet. The Trojans were led by junior Philiph Tonui who placed 10th overall in the 6 kilometer race in a time of 19:43, which broke his own school record for the 4k distance. Freshman Tyler Malone had a solid debut, finishing 73rd out of 209 competitors in a time of 21:28. Juniors Jason Cline (22:02) and Brett Jones (22:15) both dropped over a minute off of their time from a year ago and sophomore Nathan Uding (22:42) rounded out the scoring effort for the Trojans. Sophomore Ben Griffin was the 6th HLG runner to finish the race (22:51) while junior Deon Russell, who had a great start ruined by a hamstring injury, toughed it out to finish in a time of 23:28.

COACH COMMENTS: I was pleased with the guys' effort today. Philly is just now starting to work his way back into shape after recovering from a foot injury so it was good to see him take a top ten finish in his first race. He faded a bit towards the end, but he persevered and showed he belonged with the best. But he feels great and his training is coming along, so watch out! Tyler has been slowed by a pulled groin but he came out and competed well i his first race. I expect to see his times continue to plummet as he gains more confidence and gets back to the full training schedule. Jason and Brett ran well today and we will need them to continue to push the other guys as we go along. It was a bummer to see Deon fight through an injury as he had a great start to the race. We need to get him better because we'll need him to contribute in a major way. We've got a lot of work to do, but I really like this group and expect them to continue to make big strides in the coming weeks.

THE WOMEN
The women's team competed well in their race, finishing 9th out of 16 teams. Freshman Breanna Newton had a fantastic collegiate debut today, as the Rochelle, IL native finished 8th overall in a very competitive race. Her time of 15:39 not only earned her top-10 honors, but also set a new school record for the 4 kilometer distance. Fellow freshman Mandi Riddle was the second Lady Trojan to cross the line, finishing in 52nd place out of 147 runners with a time of 17:26. Sophomores Jessica Bailey (18:22) and Sarah Erickson (18:41) finished 3rd and 4th, respectively, for HLG while sophomore Liz Wilder (19:03) wrapped up the scoring for HLG in her cross country debut. Seniors Carissa Eichmeyer (20:03) and Janelle McGinniss (20:23), along with freshmen Bryanna Reynolds (21:01) and Chelsea Holmstrom (21:40) rounded out the effort for the Lady Trojans.

COACH COMMENTS: I was really proud with how the ladies came out and competed today. We have been wrecked by injuries and I was just happy to get all 10 of them to the starting line. The times were not great overall, but that is indicative of where we are from a training standpoint. As we get healthy, this group will improve by leaps and bounds. With that said, I thought that Breanna ran really well in her first college race. She proved immediately that she belonged and she knows that she is going to get even better as the season progresses. Mandi, Jess, and Sarah have hardly trained due to various injuries, so for them to come out and perform like they did shows the kind of heart we have on this team. I was impressed with Liz and Janelle who both ran in a cross country meet for the first time today and did great. There's a lot to like about this group and I look forward to seeing them get healthy and reach their great potential.

The Trojans will remain at home this weekend to host the second annual HLG Trojan Invitational on Saturday, September 11. HLG will welcome fellow American Midwest Conference member Missouri Baptist, along with Culver-Stockton, Quincy University, and Benedictine University-Springfield to Hannibal for the race, which will take place on the HLG campus beginning at 10:00am.

XC Pre-Season Update

With the 2010 cross country season upon us, we wanted to take time to catch everyone up on what has been a very busy preseason for the Hannibal-LaGrange cross country team.

On August 5, the team arrived in Hannibal and quickly got their belongings put away before embarking on a 1,000 mile journey to North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where the team had a week-long training camp.

After an overnight stop in Hendersonville, NC (thanks to the fine folks at FBC Hendo for letting us crash in their amazing youth center), we finished the long trek to the beach on Saturday afternoon. After getting settled into our beach house we were met by a rain storm and got to start our first team training run in the rain. After we got some dinner, the team wrapped up the first day with a worship service and team building.On Sunday we attended church at Wellspring Church, a year-old church plant that meets in the movie theater at Broadway at the Beach. They were stoked to see 25 out-of-towners roll in and we enjoyed getting to worship with them. We spent the afternoon enjoying the beach and wrapped up the day by moving our team worship service beach side, where we attracted several onlookers both on the beach and in the nearby condo. It was amazing to worship our amazing Lord in such a beautiful setting and we made it our regular devotional place for the week with team members and coaches rotating music and speaking duties. In a word...AMAZING!

I could go on and on describing each day in great detail but I will sum up some highlights. We ran (a lot), we ate (a lot), and a team that included a dozen newcomers came together in a way a coach could only dream of. We enjoyed all that the beach had to offer, including playing some night mini-golf, visiting some of the many surf shops (where they want you to think that everything is $5.99), and checking out Ripley's Aquarium.

In addition, we spent part of Thursday with the fine folks at the Community Kitchen of Myrtle Beach, where we helped them clean out and reorganize the freezer they use to keep food that feeds hundreds of folks each day. We got to hang out with Beth and Nancy and we were all inspired by their servant's hearts and enthusiasm to make a difference. We left them with a nicely organized freezer, but we left with much more.

The evenings were always fun with numerous team beach walks worked around a Karaoke night and, what has become the ultimate HLG XC camp tradition...SKIT NIGHT! The team split up into groups and and came up with one hilarious skit after another and even the coaches got involved in the action.

As a coach, I was so proud of how the team came together and bonded. A week far way from home living in close quarters can test even the most patient, but this group has something about them that makes me think we are in for something special this year. We've been back on campus for over a week now and, with the rest of the HLG students moving in starting tomorrow, the team has it's sights set on our first meet on September 4.

Training has been going pretty well, and I am excited to see this group get to race. With so many newcomers, the team has a brand new look. However, the common goal remains the same as it always has...to honor Christ through all our team does. I saw a lot of that over the past three weeks and we pray that we'll be able to continue to put Him first.

There is a lot to be excited about this season. The men's team is ranked 2nd in the preseason American Midwest Conference ratings and, for the first time received a vote for the NAIA top-25. The women's team is ranked 3rd in the AMC preseason poll and has their eyes set on improving that. I don't put much stock in ratings, especially in the preseason but it is safe to say that this year's team has expectations like no other team before at HLG. I believe we have the talent, heart, and desire to be special, and I can't wait to get started!

We'll get some more pictures of our training camp trip up soon, as well as some athlete profiles. We'd also like to ask that you remember the cross country team at California Baptist University in your prayers as they were recently involved in an accident while on the way to their preseason training camp that injured a number of their student-athletes and claimed the life of a coach. More information can be found HERE.

News Article Highlights HLG Pole Vault Camp

Recently, several news outlets have covered our recent pole vault camp, which was a huge success.

You can read one of the articles HERE.

HLG XC/Track & Field Announces 2010 Recruiting Class

The Hannibal-LaGrange College cross country and track & field programs have announced the signings of 20 incoming student-athletes that will be joining the team for the coming year. Below is a list of the new Trojans, as well as a comment from head coach Jason Lewkowicz.

WOMEN
Kayle Anders (Bluffs, IL)
Kayle will be running cross country and distance events for us. She is a young runner who is excited to get here and cash in on her potential. I look forward to helping her develop and reach her goals as a runner and think she will help solidify our women's distance group.
Kelsey Gerveler (Lewiston, MO)
I am excited to see how Kelsey develops in our program. She has not competed in a few years but has a great desire to pick up where she left off. Kelsey will have a chance to add some depth to our women's sprint group this year.
Chelsea Holmstrom (Maryland Heights, MO)
Chelsea will be running both XC and track for us and she is another runner who I expect to really make strong strides in our program. She comes from a strong high school team and has a great attitude and outlook.
Heather Hopkins (Mountain View, MO)
Heather will be competing primarily as a hurdler for us next year. She has a fun personality and also a drive to compete. I look forward to seeing how she grows her freshman year under Coach Scott's guidance.
Breanna Newton (Rochelle, IL)
We are thrilled to add Breanna to our team and she will be an instant impact performer for us in XC and middle distance events. She has shown great perseverance coming back from some injuries and helped lead her school's 4x800m relay team to a 3rd place finish at the Illinois State meet this year.
Bryanna Reynolds (Hermitage, MO)
Bryanna is another young distance runner that I expect to develop quite well in our program. She was a multi-sport athlete in high school and this will be her first experience running track. It will be fun helping her find her niche on the team this year.
Mandi Riddle (Mountain View, MO)
Mandi is a great pick-up for our program as she is a great young lady with tremendous versatility as a track athlete. She will be running XC for us and focusing on the 400, 800, and relays in track. She has great upside to an already strong resume.
Lisbeth Wilder (Waukee, IA)
Liz is a transfer from Ellsworth CC in Iowa where she played volleyball. However, she has had some success as a road runner and will be making the transition to being a full-time distance runner this year. She is going to be a great role-model for the younger runners and has a desire to be great. I think she will surprise folks and be a leader for our women's distance progam.
Sarah Wilson (Okinawa, Japan)
What a thrill it is to add someone of Sarah's talent and character to our team. She comes from a tremendous family and, having spent most of her life in Japan, will be making the transition to full-time life in the States. She is a very gifted sprinter who will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact in our conference.
Cailey Wilkinson (Jefferson City, MO)
Cailey is another fantastic addition to our team. She has had success as both a pole vaulter and hurdler and will compete in both areas for us. Cailey is a fierce competitor who will motivate teammates and she also has a strong and genuine faith that will enable her to be a spiritual leader for our team.

MEN
Alex Earls (Russellville, MO)
We were hoping to add some throwers to our track program and we are excited to add Alex to the mix. He comes from a great family with HLG ties and we believe that he is going to develop into an impact thrower for us.
Tyler Malone (Morrison, MO)
Tyler is a tremendous young man who had an amazing high school career that included leading his team to a team state track title in 2009. Tyler will be competing in both XC and track and we will look to develop him in the longer track events. He is a hard worker with great leadership potential and I believe he will make a strong impact for us this year.
Stephen McTeer (Louisburg, KS)
Stephen is coming to HLG as a two-sport athlete (soccer and track) and will focus on the middle distance events for us once the soccer season is over. Stephen was a key member of his high school's All-State 4x800m relay team and will look to make a similar impact for us as well.
Easton Padden (Missoula, MT)
We are expecting Easton to come in and be a top-level pole vaulter for us next year. He came to our first pole vault camp and developed a strong bond with Coach Scott, who thinks Easton has tremendous potential. He brings a fun personality to our teAm and hunger to go out and compete.
Cole Peck (Lawson, MO)
I am really pleased to have Cole joining our team. He was one of our first commitments and we will be transitioning him from a sprinter to the middle distance events and XC. Cole is a tremendous guy who brings great maturity and passion to our team. He will undoubtedly be a spiritual leader on our team and I think he has good potential to develop as a runner as well.
Deon Russell (Festus, MO)
Deon is one of the guys I am most excited about coming in because of his enthusiasm and desire to be great. He spent the past two years at Butler CC and had some success there as a distance runner. I expect Deon to come in and be an immediate contributor to our XC and track teams and look forward to seeing him continue to develop.
Andrew Sarratt (Oak Grove, MO)
Andrew will be competing in the sprint events for us and joins us with a strong desire to come in and help improve our men's sprint group. He will have the opportunity to grow under Coach Scott's tutelage and I look forward to charting his progress.
Greg Stahlman (Quincy, IL)
Greg will be coming in looking to add some depth to our men's distance program. He will be competing in XC and we will look to develop him into run the longer track events. He brings a lot of enthusiasm and comes from a great family with strong ties to HLG.
Andre Townsend (Hazel Crest, IL)
We are looking forward to having Andre be a part of our team this year. He is a tremendous hurdler who will have the opportunity to make an impact on the national level in both hurdle events. He most recently competed for JUCO powerhouse Rend Lake College and sits #4 on their all-time performance list in both the 110m and 400m hurdle events.
Nathan Uding (Hillsboro, MO)
Nathan is a distance runner who will be competing in XC and the middle distance events in track. He is a hard worker who will have the opportunity to really help improve our team this year.

Coach Comments: Overall, I am really pleased with the group that we have coming in this year. It is the largest recruiting class in the short history of the Hannibal-LaGrange Cross Country and Track & Field program and what I am most excited about is the level of character and commitment that we have found in these young people.

The talent level scans across the board but the common thread is that they are excited to be coming to HLG and want to help take our team to the next level. With the strong group of returners we have coming back, I believe that we will continue on our path of success. Most importantly, I think we have brought together a group of student-athletes that are committed to our primary goal of honoring Christ through our team and as individuals.

We expect to add a handful of additional recruits before the semester begins so stay tuned for that. We are less than a month away from the start of the 2010 cross country season, which kicks off with a week-long training camp in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Coach Scott to Compete at USA Outdoor Nationals

Today at 5:45pm CST, Hannibal-LaGrange Assistant XC/Track & Field Coach Jason Scott will be competing at the 2010 USA Outdoor Track & Field National meet, which is being held on the campus of Drake University in Des Moines, IA. Coach Scott qualified for his first outdoor championship meet by virtue of his season best mark of 5.41m (17'9") which is tied for the 14th best mark in the nation.

Coach Scott has competed twice at the USA Indoor Championships, taking home a 4th place finish in 2009. We're excited to have Coach Scott represent HLG at the USA Championships and we'll provide a full re-cap at the conclusion of the meet.

Academic Honors Roll in for Women's Teams

Danielle Sturgeon & Jessica Curry are NAIA Scholar-Athletes!

The Hannibal-LaGrange Cross Country/Track & Field teams showed that they are committed to both academics as well as athletics, with several academic honors being bestowed on the team this off-season.

Individually, graduated seniors Danielle Sturgeon (House Springs, MO) and Jessica Curry (Coleridge, NE) both received Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards for track & field in 2010. This award, which is the NAIA's equivalent to an Academic All-American achievement, is presented to student-athletes of at least junior status who have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5. Danielle, who is also a 2-time conference champion in the pole vault and 4-time All-Conference performer, is receiving this award for the second year in a row.

All three HLG women's teams (Cross Country, Indoor Track & Field, Outdoor Track & Field) were also honored with the distinction of being a NAIA Scholar Teams. This honor is earner by teams who have a combined cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.0.

From Coach Lewkowicz: "I am extremely please by the academic achievements of our women's cross country and track teams this year. We stress a commitment to all phases of life and it is great to see their efforts in the classroom rewarded. I hope that this becomes a comment trend for our programs in the future."