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Red Hawks Full of Youth And Talent In 2009
RIPON, Wis. - Last year, the Red Hawks had one of the youngest track and field teams in the nation. This season, they are even younger with 30 of the 38 athletes on the roster either first or second year athletes.
"We are very inexperienced but at the same time, very talented. As we mature we will have a very strong team. I am very optimistic about the future of our program," said head coach Robert Duley.
That optimism is in part fueled by a strong distance group. This past fall the men won their fourth Wisconsin Private College championship (2002, 2005, 2007, 2008) in the past seven years. Leading this group will be sophomores Jason Smith (Stevens Point, Wis.), Michael Dussault (Antioch, Ill.), and Ben Worcester (Chicago, Ill.). All three were All-Conference cross county performers in the Fall of 2008.
Also coming off a successful cross country campaign are sophomores Lucas Felten (Libertyville, Ill.) and Cody Jolin (Altoona, Wis.) and freshmen Brett Beckmann (Algoma, Wis.), Jared Jorgensen (Glidden, Wis.), Robert Ottesen (Neshkoro, Wis.), AJ Thew (Niagra, Wis.), and Derek Wallace (Madison, Wis.).
After a second place finish in the Wisconsin Private College cross country championships this year, the women distance runners will also be a strength of the team. The Red Hawks will be led by senior Brittany Dick (Amherst, Wis.) and junior Jessica Davey (Berlin, Wis.). Both Dick and Davey are three time All-Conference performers in cross country. Dick was also an NCAA qualifier in the steeple chase in 2007.
Other athletes looking to lead the Red Hawk distance corps are senior Erin Beggs (Crystal Lake, Ill.), sophomores Laura Rueling (Eagle River, Wis.) and Brooke Zank (Beloit, Wis.), and freshmen Alaina Nesbitt (Southern Door, Wis.) and Nikki Weichbrod (McFarland, Wis.).
Another event group looking to carry the Red Hawks in 2009 will be the throwers. Both the men and women are loaded with talent. Sophomores Kyle Roy (Random Lake, Wis.), Jeff Trinka (Mukwonago, Wis.) and Matt Ingish (West Bend, Wis.), along with junior Brad Bogenschutz (Hortonville, Wis.) are coming off a successful 2008 track and field season. Roy placed in both the shot and disc in the conference in his first season as a collegiate thrower.
The women are led by sophomore Erin Lukas (Beloit, Wis.) and freshmen Jessica Brungardt (Chatfield, Colo.) and Heidi Baerenwald (Appleton, Wis.). Baerenwald is coming off an unbelievable high school senior year, where she not only won the W.I.A.A. state shot title, but also broke the state record as well.
"When you have talent and are coached by one of the best throwing coaches in America (former Red Hawk disc national champion Mike Immel) you expect success," Duley said. "We will be as good as anyone we compete against."
Sprinters looking to make their mark in 2009 are sophomores Max Bellmore (Libertyville, Ill.), Andrew Handeland (Mequon, Wis.) and Jamie Reese (Columbus, Wis.), who holds the school record in the indoor 400. Joining them will be freshmen Gade Jyambere (Beaver Dam, Wis.), Erfan Taefi (Richardson, Texas), Muji Thompson (Bronx, N.Y.) and Paulina Marks (Berlin, Wis.), and senior Trisha Jones (Marengo, Ill.).
The hurdlers should also do well with the return of senior Bob Wood (Port Washington, Wis.), who was the indoor conference champion as a freshman. Joining him will be sophomore John Lightfield (East Troy, Wis.), freshman Marco Rhein (Berlin, Wis.) and Jones. The hurdlers are coached by Dan Sutter, also a former Red Hawk track star, who won three Private College titles in the hurdles. Jones, the women’s MVP of 2007, returns to the team after studying abroad in 2008.
The jumps are another strong area for the Red Hawks. Led by Bellmore and indoor and outdoor triple jump school record holder, senior Demba Camara (Sun Prairie, Wis.), the Red Hawks will be very strong. Adding to that depth will be Reese, freshman Ben Rabata (Beaver Dam, Wis.) and Jones.
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