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Track & Field Recap
The 2007 Bulldog track & field teams wrapped up their season with fifth and ninth place finishes at the KCAC championship meet.
Leading the way for the Bulldog men by garnering All-KCAC honors were Israel Ortiz and Zane Walker, while Lacy Johnston topped the Lady Bulldog efforts by also earning first team all-conference honors.
Ortiz placed second in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 5,000-meter runs, Johnston tied for second and Walker tied for third, both in the high jump. Thirteen men and four women combined to earn honorable mention All-KCAC honors in twelve events topped by fourth place finishes by Shaun Griffin in the 5,000 and steeplechase, Dan Hudachek in the hammer throw, and the men’s 4x800 meter relay team of Sean McCrae, Tolan Lichty, Ortiz, and Brent Bailey.
Dan Hudachek set a new school record in the hammer throw, tossing the 16-pound and wire 152’4” to break Gordon Hornbaker’s mark of 150’9”, originally set in 1975 and tied by Hudachek earlier this spring.
The top team finish by the Bulldog men this season was their second place total at the annual ACCK championship.
The Bulldogs lose only three seniors to graduation this spring, and with the addition of several quality incoming freshmen, the future continues to brighten for McPherson track & field.
Track & Field winds up indoor season
Indoor track season in Kansas is always a challenge as Mother Nature generally wins out. Workouts for the Bulldogs in the track and jumping events are dependant on being able to get outside, and the throwers can get only so much good from throwing into a net indoors. When the weather doesn’t cooperate, it is tough to make significant strides in improvement.
Even with limited training facilities, the Bulldogs were able to put together solid performances when competing on the 200-meter or larger tracks at Kansas State University, Kansas University, and the University of Nebraska. The squad was scheduled to participate in three combination indoor-outdoor meets (throwing events and vertical jumps indoors with running events and horizontal jumps outdoors) at Bethany College, but twice cold weather forced cancellation of the outdoor portion of the meet and for the third, the outdoor portion of was advanced a day to avoid a forecast storm only to encounter hampering winds.
Still, the Bulldogs qualified two individuals for the NAIA National Indoor Championships, held March 8-10 in Johnson City, Tenn. Senior Dan Hudachek threw the 35-pound weight 52’2” at the second Bethany Indoor/Outdoor to qualify for nationals the second straight year. Junior Zane Walker cleared 6’6” in the high jump at the KU Jayhawk Invite to earn his first trip to the national meet.
“We use the indoor season as basically preparation for the up-coming outdoor season,” said McPherson head coach Dave Smith. “We had hoped to get a couple more qualified for nationals, but between the weather and a few of the folks not being here for interterm and missing opportunities to compete at K-State and KU, they just weren’t ready when their best opportunity was there.”
The Bulldogs will open the official outdoor season on March 24th with a trip to Lindsborg for the Swede Invitational. McPherson College will host its only home meet of the season on March 31st, with the running of its annual Bulldog Invitational.
