Track teams field great marks at conference meet

Ryan Moore
Staff Writer
May 6, 2004, Page 6

The Doane women’s track team continued their Great Plains Athletic Conference domination by winning their 6th straight conference championship Saturday on Lauritsen Track.
The Doane women beat runner up Nebraska Wesleyan by an astounding 153 points. Senior Rochelle Schmidt won Outstanding Performance of the Meet with her contribution in the triple jump. Schmidt set a GPAC, school and stadium record with a jump of 41-03.50.
Senior Andrea Swanson also set a GPAC record in the javelin, with a throw of 140-01. Doane took the top three spots in the javelin. Following Swanson were sophomore Jocelyn Spurgin taking second, and sophomore Rhonda Egger in third.
Also contributing was senior Brittany Price who set a GPAC record of 11:07.96 in the steeplechase.
The Doane men fell short of a conference title losing to Nebraska Wesleyan by 35 points, taking the runner up spot.
The men’s team was led by Senior Dan Underwood who took first in both the hammer throw (175-05) and the discus (154-06).
The only GPAC record that was set on the men’s side came from freshman Ben Francis when he tied the javelin mark with a throw of 197-02.

Track teams sweep Prairie Wolves in outdoor duel

Ryan Moore
Staff Writer
April 15, 2004, Page 6

The men’s and women’s track teams both won their dual against Nebraska Wesleyan Friday on the rain soaked Lauritsen Track.
The Tiger women dominated, winning by a final score of 139 to Nebraska Wesleyan’s 47. The women took first place in 13 out of 18 events.
Doane was led by senior Rochelle Schmidt who took first place in two events. Along with taking first in the long jump with a jump of 18 feet 9 ½ inches, Schmidt took 1st place in the triple jump by breaking her previous school record with a jump of 40 feet 4 ¾ inches.
Junior Kim Svoboda was also a key contributor taking first in the discus with a throw of 141 feet 7 inches and first in the hammer throw with a throw of 158 feet 6 inches.
The men’s side of the dual was much tighter than the women’s. The two teams were so even that the meet came down to the last event of the day, the 1600-meter relay.
“We weren’t scared or nervous, we just wanted to run our race,” said sophomore relay member Jeff Luebbe. “We just treated it like every race we run.”
The relay team, which was made up of freshman Matt Hollman, sophomore Jeff Luebbe, and seniors Dusty Krusemark and Jonathan Pingel beat Wesleyan by five seconds and set a national qualifying time of 3:17.63. The victory in the 1600-meter relay allowed the Tigers to edge out the Prairie Wolves in the team standings 94 to 92.
Luebbe also took first in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 53.86. Senior thrower Dan Underwood contributed by taking first in the discus with a throw of 141 feet 7 inches, as well as first in the hammer throw with a throw of 167 feet 10 inches.
Doane competes next in the Doane Relays Friday and Saturday in Crete.

Schmidt, Underwood lead teams to success

Andy Dygert
News Editor
April 8, 2004, Page 6

Seniors Rochelle Schmidt and Dan Underwood, both former NAIA National Champions, led the Doane track team last week as they won the men’s and women’s SCHEELS/GPAC Outdoor Track and Field Athletes-of-the-Week awards.
Both athletes qualified for NAIA nationals with their marks in last week’s meets. Schmidt qualified in long jump with a leap of 19-00.5 ft. and in the triple long jump with a mark of 38-03.5 ft. Schmidt won the indoor and outdoor National Championships in the triple long jump in 2003 and won the indoor National Championship in long jump and triple jump this year.
Underwood excelled in the hammer-throw to win his award with a toss of 167-04 ft. at the Nebraska Kearney Open on March 27. Underwood won the outdoor National Championship in the discus in 2003.
Doane did well in the Dana Invite as a team, despite windy conditions, winning 12 women’s events and five men’s events. Schmidt won both the long jump and the triple long jump. Freshman Katie Kosmos won the 400 meter hurdles and came in second in the 100 meter hurdles.
“It was pretty windy,” freshman Blake Houchin said. “We pole-vaulters had to move to the high school.”
On the men’s side, Underwood won the hammer-throw and came in third in the discus. In the javelin throw, freshman Ben Francis won with a throw of 197-00.75 ft. and sophomore Ryan Dorhorst came in second with a toss of 160 ft.
The Tigers’ men’s and women’s teams next meet is Friday at Doane’s Lauritsen Track.
“For most people, the meet at Dana was their first outdoor meet,” sophomore Paul Sanders said. “Most people did all right, but the wind affected pretty much everyone. Hopefully we get some better marks in on Friday.”

Track Photos

Jerrome Morgan
Photo Editor
Mar. 4, 2004, Page 7

Freshman sprinter Michael Logsdon warms up before practice at Fuhrer Field House.

Freshman Katie Kosmos sails over the high jump bar. Kosmos is competing in three events at the indoor national meet, including the pentathlon.

Senior Dan Underwood tosses the weight for the weight throw while practicing in Fuhrer Field House. Underwood is seeded eigth at the national indoor meet in the competition.