FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5/29/03

CONTACT:
B.J. Schneck (wschneck@greenville.edu)
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Greenville College
(618) 664-6621

Greenville Track and Field Finish Season in Superb Fashion, Men's Team Finishes Seventh in the Nation

GREENVILLE, Ill. - Nine All-American honors and one regional coach of the year award is how the Greenville College track and field team wrapped up the 2003 season at the NCAA Division III outdoor national championship hosted by St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y.

G.C. was represented by seven athletes competing in seven different events including six men and one woman. This was the largest number of athletes in attendance at the NCAA national meet in school history.

The honors started early, before the competition even began, at the recognition banquet Wednesday evening. Head coach Brian Patton received the regional coach of the year award for the midwest region, one of eight from across the nation. Patton was selected by other head coaches from the region as the 2003 outdoor track and field recipient.

Starting Thursday, sophomore Bryson Taylor was the Panthers first All-American. Taylor cleared 6-9 in the high jump to secure seventh place. Taylor's finish was particularly exceptional as he enter the competition seeded 15th.

Nate Johns entered into the first day of competition in the decathlon on Thursday. At day's end, Johns was positioned in ninth with 3228 points. The men's 400 meter relay also ran in the preliminary heats of the event. Kenneth Woodhouse, Brandon Tripp, Danny Donaldson, and Terry Cantley advanced to the finals with an eighth seed after zipping around the oval in 41.69 seconds.

Friday was a busy day for the Greenville athletes. Andrea Shultz, GC's lone female athlete, earned All-American honors in the hammer throw with her sixth place finish. In an extremely competitive event, Shultz's 170-3 effort in the finals locked up her scoring finish. Shultz, a senior, ended her career with Greenville as the most decorated athlete at the NCAA level. The 2003 outdoor honors marked Shultz's fourth time earning an All-American finish.

Next, Danny Donaldson took to the runway in the long jump. Donaldson continued the All-American ways with his fifth place finish. Danny jumped 22-9¼ in the preliminaries to advance to the finals. There he improved his mark with a leap of 23-1¾, another scoring mark for the Greenville men.

The decathlon competition came to a close on Friday. After a strong second day, Nate Johns found himself in fourth place, an All-American finish. Johns amassed 6494 points, a season high total. Johns' advancement in the ranks was fueled by a top finish in the decathlon discus of 126-9 and a personal record in the pole vault of 12-11½.

Brandon Tripp and Donaldson ran in the preliminary heats of the 100 meter dash. Both failed to qualify for finals. With a stiff "into your face" wind blowing, Donaldson ran 11.11 seconds, while Tripp turned in 11.05 seconds. Tripp's time was near miss as 11.04 seconds was needed to advance to the finals.

On Saturday, the final day of competition, the rain that had been forecasted held true. Despite the persistent downfall, Bryson Taylor bounded out to an early lead in the triple jump with his 47-8½ effort during the preliminary flights. Taylor was unable to better the mark in finals, but it held up nonetheless and garnered him a fourth place finish. This scoring effort was Taylor's second All-American honor of the meet.

Running on the far outside of the track in lane nine, the 400 meter relay team fought their way to a sixth place finish. The race was very even throughout, which allowed anchor leg Terry Cantley to pick off a few teams and close out a respectable effort of 41.55 seconds. This finish assured that all Greenville athletes in attendance earned All-American awards.

For the men, placing in five events tallied 19 total points. This point total led to finishing seventh in the nation, G.C.'s highest team finish at the NCAA national meet.

"It was rewarding to see the seniors end their career on such a high note," said head coach Brian Patton when asked about the outcome of the meet. "It was also very exciting to see everyone who competed earn All-American honors."

The national meet was a very appropriate cap stone to the 2003 season, one that will go down as one of the most competitively prosperous years in team history.

- www.greenville.edu -

Last updated: June 2, 2003