11 Tigers take first

Jordan Bass
Sports Editor
Dec. 9, 2004, Page 11

The Tiger men's and women's track teams both placed a bevy of athletes at the University of Nebraska at Kearney Open on Saturday.
Turning in first place finishes for the women's team was Gail Klitz in the 400 meter dash, Katie Jasa in the high jump, Meagan Bauer in the pole vault, and Kayla Pietzyk in the triple jump.
"We're trying a lot of kids in a lot of different events," head track coach Ed Fye said. "When we have kids in their strengths they have performed well."
Tiffany Roemmich placed second in the 200 meter dash while Tiffany Hopkins and Rebecca Welsch placed second and third in the triple jump to give the Tiger women the medal sweep in that event.
On the men's side, Joel Bacon took first place in the 400 meter dash while Robin Witte captured first in the 2 mile. Greg Torres claimed first in the 600 yard run and Michael Railsback also snatched first in the 55 meter hurdles. The Tiger 4 x 4 relay team also brought home first place along with Blake Lambert in the long jump and Will Moman in the weight throw.
"We have a lot of kids running really well," Fye said. "We try to peak in three weeks when it's time for (the) conference (tournament) and nationals."
Railsback also led a two through five sweep for the Tiger men in the 200 meter dash as he was followed by Kedrick Kelley, Jess Wimmer, and Joe Richardson. The men also swept the one through four positions in the two mile. Witte was followed by Danny McClenahan, Jared Hansmeyer, and Josh Peavy.
Matt Hollman took second in the 800 meters and David Walden also took home second in the high jump. In the men's triple jump Tom Martin took home second while Derek Deyle captured second in the shotput and third in the weight throw.
Fye said his team is focused solely on the conference championships.
"I think we will know more about our national goals after the conference meet," Fye said.
The Tigers are back on the track Saturday for the Fred Beile Classic in Fuhrer Field House.

Schmidt brings home two golds

Fifteen earn All-American honors, Women take fifth

Laurie Wood
Staff Writer
Mar. 11, 2004, Page 6

Senior Rochelle Schmidt won the long jump and triple jump to help the Doane women finish fifth at the 2004 NAIA national track meet.
The Doane men ended up in thirty-first place, scoring 7 total points.
Schmidt was Doane’s standout, winning the triple jump with a jump of 40 feet 6 inches beating the second place finisher by more than a foot.
She also won the long jump, after falling one place short in 2003. She scored 20 of the Tiger’s 48 points.
Schmidt has been completing at the national level for her entire college career. Bringing home two gold medals was a long-awaited achievement for her.
“My teammates and coaches helped me get through the season with lots of encouragement and support,” Schmidt said. “It (winning) is a feeling that I can’t explain, but it felt really good because it proves that you are the best in the nation.”
The Doane Tigers had 10 women, including Schmidt, finish in the top six in their event, making them All-Americans.
Five Doane men earned All-American status. Sophomore Walker Thomas finished fourth in the pole vault.
The 1,600-meter relay team also placed fourth. Those running on the relay team included freshman Joel Bacon, sophomore Jeff Luebbe, senior Jonathan Pingel, and senior Dusty Krusemark.
Both the men’s and women’s track teams are only half done with their 2004 season. Their focus now turns to the outdoor season, mainly the outdoor conference track meet.
“Nationals is just another meet to finish off the season,” Schmidt said. “Conference is always our number one priority.”
The outdoor track season begins at the end of March, with the first track meet scheduled for March 26 and 27.

All-Americans
Women
Senior Rochelle Schmidt- long and triple jump, first
Senior Allisha Melroy- weight throw, third
Freshman Katie Kosmos- pentathlon, third
Sophomore Rhonda Egger- long jump, fourth
Senior Mary Hagemann- shot put, fourth
Senior Brittany Price- 5,000-meter run, fifth
Senior Rachel Windhorst- pole vault, fifth
Senior Cassie Baker- pentathlon, fifth
Junior Emily Durran- weight throw, sixth
Freshman Lindsey Ribbens- 55-meter hurdles, sixth

Men
Sophomore Walker Thomas- pole vault, fourth
Freshman Joel Bacon- 1,600-meter relay, fourth
Sophomore Jeff Luebbe- 1,600-meter relay, fourth
Senior Jonathon Pingel- 1,600-meter relay, fourth
Senior Dusty Krusemark- 1,600-meter relay, fourth

Teams hope outdoor season will build off indoor success

Andy Dygert
News Editor
Mar. 4, 2004, Page 7

Doane’s track and field athletes have burst out of the confines of another long indoor track season and are headed for the open air.
The outdoor season is about to begin as indoor track nationals begin today. The Doane men’s and women’s teams are looking for a successful and victory-laden season.
“We set the standard at the beginning of the year,” freshman Joel Bacon said. “We decided that we would dominate this year.”
The women’s track team is coming off their fourteenth consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference victory in indoor and they are looking to make it complete by winning in outdoor as well.
They are also prepared to give a shot at winning a third national championship in four years. The women won back to back national championships in 2001 – 2002 and finished second last year.
“In the past there were one or two teams that were really able to win the championship,” Head Coach Ed Fye said. “This year there’s about six that should get a lot of points, but we’ve got a chance as we should be scoring a lot of points as well.”
The men are also hungry for a win in conference after losing to Nebraska Wesleyan University by 14 points in the indoor GPAC meet.
“You can bet your ass that Wesleyan will be going down in conference this time,” Bacon said.
The outdoor season meets begin March 26. The GPAC Championship will be held May 1 at Doane’s Lauritsen Track.
The outdoor national championships will be held on May 27-29 at Lousville, Ky.
“We’ve got a good looking team going into the outdoor season,” Fye said. “We’ve got national champions and great new athletes. We can chip away with everyone and I think we have the opportunity to compete strongly.”