2006-07 Horizon League Track and Field Prospectus

Dec. 21, 2006

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UW-Milwaukee looks to continue its track and field success after taking Horizon League team titles in men's and women's indoor and men's outdoor in 2005-06.  The women's outdoor squad took a second place finish at the League Championship as Youngstown State edged the Panthers for the victory.

The men's team returns several athletes who claimed individual League titles, including Darren Cole (indoor high jump and triple jump), Justin Bohler (indoor heptathlon, outdoor 400 meter high hurdles), Trentin Edwards (outdoor 100 meters and 200 meters), Adam Schleis (outdoor 110 meter high hurdles and long jump) and Jeremy Majors (outdoor 800 meters).  Schleis was named the indoor Field Newcomer of the Year and outdoor Running Newcomer of the Year,  and also set a new conference 110-meter high hurdles record of :14.60 at the Horizon League Outdoor Championships.

The women's squad also returns many of its top athletes, highlighted by senior Timeka Walker, who claimed three individual titles last year in the indoor 60 meters and 200 meters, as well as the outdoor 200 meters.  Walker will be joined by returning champions Angie Huebner (indoor 5,000 meters), Joy VanLaanen (indoor pole vault and long jump), and Jenni Saarinen (indoor pentathlon and outdoor long jump).  Saarinen was also named the indoor and outdoor Field Newcomer of the Year.

Youngstown State claimed the women's Horizon League Outdoor Championship, and posted second place finishes at all the other Horizon League finales.  The Penguins enter the season with a young squad but will be able to remain competitive across the board.

Sophomore Martin Vieth will look to defend his outdoor high jump individual League title after posting a mark of 6-3.25 last season.  Classmate Aaron Merrill was named the outdoor Field Newcomer of the Year after winning the shot put with a school record mark of 53-10.25.  Merrill will also be able to compete for League-bests in the other throwing events as well.

Junior Bethany Anderson will lead the Penguins in the field events again this season after claiming four individual titles in indoor shot put and weight throw and outdoor shot put and hammer throw.  Anderson was also named the outdoor Outstanding Field Performer.  Junior Yandeh Joh finished second in the long jump at the outdoor League championships with a school record leap of 18-9.75.  Joh also finished second in the 400 meter hurdles (1:03.39), pentathlon (3,436 points), long jump (17-9.5) and 400-meter dash (:57.94).

Sophomore Katie Betts will return for the Penguins after being named the outdoor Running Newcomer of the Year. 

The UIC men's team took home third-place finishes at both the indoor and outdoor League Championships.  The women's squad notched a fourth place indoor finish and a sixth place outdoor finish last season.

The UIC men will be led by junior Terell Williams who claimed the 2006 Horizon League individual title in the outdoor decathlon.  Williams also took second in the javelin with a personal best toss of 170-07.

Junior Idara Essien was named the indoor Outstanding Field Performer and will return for the Flames to defend her indoor and outdoor triple jump titles.  Essien's mark of 40-06.75 meters at the outdoor championships was good for a new League record.

First-year head coach Rick Wemple takes over a Loyola program that finished near the middle of the pack at last year's Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Championships.  Wemple comes to Loyola after spending the last two seasons as the head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach at Lewis University.

Three Loyola runners won events at last season's indoor meet with a pair of school record sprints by Jimel Denham, who won the 200 meters (:21.70), Edmund Blankson  who captured the 400-meter crown (:48.24) and Robert Wade claimed the 5,000-meter title (14:44.81).

Senior Sam Romanoski will be back to lead the distance runners after pacing the cross country team in the fall.    The field events may pose a problem for the Ramblers as sophomore Erik Hernandez is the only thrower listed on the roster.

Senior Marcia Faustin has swept the Horizon League indoor and outdoor high jump titles for the past three seasons.  Faustin also set a school record and finished fifth in the outdoor 200 meter dash.

The high point from Butler's 2006 season came when the women claimed a third-place finish at the outdoor League Championships.  The Bulldogs return several of the distance runners who also competed on the cross country team and took both men's and women's Horizon League team championships in the fall.

Horizon League Indoor and Outdoor Track Athlete of the Year Scott Overall  posted record-setting marks when he claimed individual League titles in the indoor 1,000 meters (2:24.79) and outdoor 5,000 meters (14:30.57) last season.  He posted a 12th-place finish in the 3,000-meter run at the 2006 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships.  As the League's lone competitor at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, he finished 11th in the 5,000-meter run.  Overall was recently named the League's 2006 Cross Country Athlete of the Year. 

Also returning for the Butler men's squad are 2006 League individual champions Andy Rayner (indoor 1,000 meters), Alex Hains (indoor 3,000 meters), and Andrew Toward (outdoor 10,000 meters).

The Butler women also return outstanding distance runners this season.  Ava Hutchinson was named the 2006 Cross Country Athlete of the Year and also claimed an individual League title in the outdoor 1,500 meters last season.  Jenni Pereira is another returning champion for Butler after taking the outdoor 5,000 meters in 2006.

Detroit hopes to bounce back from last season after posting last-place finishes in both men's League Championships, as the Titan women were able to end up in fifth place at both finales.

Tom Grant led the Titan men last year as the individual League champion in the indoor long-jump event.

Krista Switzer also made it to the top of the podium for Detroit after out-distancing the League in the javelin at the outdoor championships.

The Wright State University women enter the 2006-07 season under the direction of first-year head coach Sylvia Kamp. 

Senior Cortney Mann set the school indoor record for the weight throw (15.76 meters) and posted Wright State's top indoor distance in the shot put (11.56 meters) at the League Championships.  Mann will look for support in the throwing events from sophomore Nicole Becker and newcomer Amanda Wilson.  Senior Jill Britton also has a chance at the pole vault title after taking top five finishes at the League finales

Junior Casanav Simmons will be the top returning sprinter for the Raiders after finishing third in the 400 meter dash at the indoor League Championships. 

Valparaiso University will join the Horizon League next season, but for now the Crusaders are looking to break into the top half of the Mid-Continent Conference.  First-year head coach Ryan Moore will guide Valparaiso this season after spending the past three years as an assistant. 

Steve Bartholomew was named the 2006 Mid-Con Outdoor Athlete of the Year after capturing two individual event titles.  The junior won the hammer throw with a school-record toss of 189-7 and followed with a winning effort of 170-4 in the discus. 

Junior sprinter Melanie Wilson currently holds five individual Crusader records and is a four-time All-Mid Con honoree.  Amanda Body will join Wilson in the sprints, but will also look to defend her Mid-Con indoor long jump title after posting a school-record leap of 18-8.