2007 Poets Track and Field Recap

The Whittier College Women's Track and Field team finished seventh in the SCIAC with a 2-5 record this season.  The Poets picked up wins over the University of La Verne and Caltech at the SCIAC Multi-Duals hosted by Pomona-Pitzer on April 14.  At the SCIAC Championships hosted by Whittier College on April 28 and 30, the Poets finished in seventh place with 34 team points.  Five Poets earned All-Conference honors in seven events at the meet, led by senior Dana Allen, who won her first SCIAC Championship in the 100 meter hurdles and finished third in the high jump.  Sophomore Shuree Gangloff took fourth in the shot put and sixth in the hammer throw.  Sophomore Stephanie Warner finished third in the javelin for her first All-SCIAC performance.  Senior Molly Loesche finished fifth in the Pole Vault and freshman Darline Partida took sixth in the 1500 meter run.  The five All-SCAC athletes for the Poets is equal to the number of all-conference performances from the past two seasons.

Three school records have been broken this season.  Allen now holds the 100 meter hurdles record with a time of 15.01 seconds.  The 4  x 400 meter relay team of Allen, Erin Patterson, Monique Melgajero and Michelle Araw set a new record with a time of 4:16.95.  Gangloff broke her own record in the discus by over six feet with a mark of 147'5".  She earned All-American honors with a fifth place finish in the discus at the 2007 NCAA Division III Championships hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh on May 23-25.

The 2007 Whittier College men's track and field team finished seventh in the SCIAC standings this season, despite going 0-7 at the SCIAC Multi Duals hosted by Pomona-Pitzer on April 14.  A strong performance at the SCIAC Championships on April 28 and 30 catapulted the Poets past Caltech in the conference overall standings.  The Poets finished seventh at the Championships with 19 team points.  Two Poets earned All-SCIAC honors in three events, the best showing from the team in three years.

Junior Chris Gartrell led the men with a pair of second place finishes in the 100 and 200 meter dashes.  His time in of 11.01 in the Championship prelims was just .5 seconds behind the school record that has stood since 1979.  In the 200, Gartrell was just .01 seconds behind the first place finisher.  Senior John Morely was the other All-SCIAC performer for the Poets.  He finished sixth in the 1500 meter run with a personal best time of 4:02.99.  A number of Poets recorded personal best times throughout the season, providing a great deal of optimism for head coach Dave Hogan in 2008.