2008 Outdoor Recap
Men’s Track & Field Places 7th At NAIA Outdoor Nationals; Women 22nd; Record 11 All-America Honors EarnedThe Malone College men’s and women’s track & field teams, led by head coach Charlie Grimes, recently ended an impressive 2008 season with a seventh-place finish at the NAIA Outdoor National Championships for the men and a 22nd-place finish for the women. In addition, NAIA All-America honors were earned by the men’s squad and two by the women’s team. In all, the total of 11 NAIA All-America honors earned by Malone athletes at the outdoor national meet were the most ever in any NAIA national meet in the history of the storied Malone track & field program (see individual performances section below for NAIA All-America honors). For the Malone men, freshman Aaron Melhorn (Fairless H.S.) accomplished the rare individual national title as he won the 3000-meter steeplechase. In addition, Melhorn became the first freshman in the history of Malone athletics to earn four NAIA All-America honors as a freshman (one in cross country, three in track & field).
In their seventh-place finish, the Pioneer men tallied 36 points as Azusa Pacific (CA) University earned the national championship title with 61 points. The Malone women chalked up 12 points for their 22nd-place finish as Wayland Baptist (TX) University won the women’s national title with 80 points. Three weeks before the NAIA national event, the Malone teams competed at the NCCAA National Championships in Marion, Indiana (hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University) where the Pioneer women claimed a national title among a 14-team field while the men’s squad finished as the national runner-up among a 15-team field. In addition, the Malone coaching staff earned the NCCAA Women’s Coaching Staff of the Year award.
In the NCCAA women’s competition, Malone finished with 158 points to edge runner-up Cedarville University, which finished with 152 points. Indiana Wesleyan took third with 126 points. For the women, three athletes collected individual NCCAA national titles while 11 other Pioneer athletes also achieved NCCAA All-America status by finishing in the top three in an event (see Individual Performances).
For the men, Malone finished with 124 points for its second-place finish as Indiana Wesleyan captured the men’s team title with 163.5 points. Taylor (IN) University and Bethel (IN) College tied for third with 112 points. The men’s team had three individual national champions and one relay national champion while an additional six athletes and one relay team earned NCCAA All-America honors (see Individual Performances). At the AMC Championships in late April, the men’s team captured the team title while the Pioneer women’s team finished a close runner-up at the meet. In addition, Malone head coach Charlie Grimes was voted the AMC Men’s Coach of the Year. For the men, Malone tallied 222 points to easily defeat runner-up Cedarville University, which had 198 points, among a seven-team field. Notre Dame (OH) College finished third with 129 points.
The Malone men crowned six individual event champions while a relay team also won its event. All first-place finishers were named All-AMC First Team (see Individual Performances). For the women, Malone finished with 211.33 points, just three points behind Cedarville University, which won with 214.33 points, among an eight-team field. Notre Dame (OH) College finished in third place with 138 points. The Malone women also crowned two individual event champions who were also named All-AMC First Team (see Individual Performances).
The teams also competed in such prestigious meets this season as the Wake Forest University Open (Winston-Salem, NC), the Wheeling Jesuit University Invitational (Wheeling, WV), the Hillsdale College Relays (Hillsdale, MI), and the Allegheny Gator Invitational (Meadville, PA). In addition, both the men’s and women’s teams captured team championships at the Walsh University Invitational (the men among a five-team field and the women among six teams).
The Malone teams also hosted the first annual Jack Hazen Open Track & Field meet in which over 25 schools and nearly 45 teams were represented. The non-scoring meet saw numerous Pioneers capture event titles while two NAIA national-qualifying marks were also posted. In the meet, the Malone men and women had a combined 32 athletes finish in the top three in an event and 15 Pioneers earned event titles. The meet also featured U.S.A. Olympic hopeful A.G. Kruger in the hammer throw.
Individual Performances
NAIA Nationals All-Americans Aaron Melhorn (Fr., Fairless H.S.) 3000-meter steeplechase 1st 8:56.36 Aaron Melhorn (Fr., Fairless H.S.) 5000 meters 5th 14:39.53 Ryan Kienzle (Sr., GlenOak H.S.) 10,000 meters 2nd 30:25.50 Ryan Kienzle (Sr., GlenOak H.S.) 5000 meters 3rd 14:39.53 Evan Gaynor (So., Delta H.S.) 5000 meters 6th 14:42.24 Men’s 4x800-meter relay team of: 5th 7:36.34 Chris Cruise (Sr., Field H.S.) Nik Schweikert (Jr.,
Mike Coates (Sr.,
Chris Sinick (So., Field H.S.) Becky Rospotynski (So., Copley H.S.) Pole Vault 3rd 11’9.75” Kalie Hauenstein (So.,
NCCAA Nationals: Individual National Champions Aaron Melhorn (Fr., Fairless H.S.) 3000-meter steeplechase 8:55.29 Ryan Kienzle (Sr., GlenOak H.S.) 10,000 meters 31:48.05 Brady West (Sr.,
Men’s 4x800-meter relay team of: 7:45.20 Chris Cruise (Sr., Field H.S.) Aaron Melhorn (Fr., Fairless H.S.) Mike Coates (Sr.,
Chris Sinick (So., Field H.S.) Becky Rospotynski (So., Copley H.S.) Pole Vault 11’11.75” Lori Ickes (Fr., Smithville H.S.) Javelin 135’5” Laura McElrath (Sr.,
AMC Championships: Individual AMC Champions Steven Young (Fr.,
Jeb Ford (Jr., Minerva H.S.) 400 meters 48.74 Chris Sinick (So., Field H.S.) 800 meters 1:56.19 Garrett Oliver (So., Benjamin Logan H.S.) 400-meter hurdles 54.61 Matt Nichols (Fr., Crestwood H.S.) 5000 meters 15:27.94 Aaron Melhorn (Fr., Fairless H.S.) 10,000 meters 32:47.59 Men’s 4x800-meter relay team of: 7:41.85 Chris Cruise (Sr., Field H.S.) Ryan Kienzle (Sr., GlenOak H.S.) Mike Coates (Sr.,
Chris Sinick (So., Field H.S.) Emily Alderfer (So.,
Becky Rospotynski (So., Copley H.S.) Pole Vault 11’1.175”
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