Talent and depth are two crucial elements to having a successful college track and field season. The Harper College women’s track and field team has both.
The Hawks, who are fielding the largest team in the school’s history, will begin their indoor season on Saturday morning at the UW-Parkside Classic in Somers, Wisconsin.
While Harper only returns two sophomores from last year’s team that placed third at the 2015 NJCAA Division III Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Championship, both sophomores were big-time point getters last season. National champion and school record breaker Leah Kloss (/Grayslake Central) (100m, 200m, 400m relay) is back for her second season as is Shayan Dussard (/Hoffman Estates), who placed in the 100m, 200m, and high jump and was a member of the first place 400m relay team.
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“We’re looking really good so far. We have a lot more variety in terms of covering events. Winning nationals is always the goal,” Kloss said.
Harper head coach Renee Zellner will be relying on new freshmen talent to round out the team and seek a national championship. The Hawks won a national title on the women’s side in 2011, the only national championship in a women’s sport in school history.
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“Not only do they have the depth to cover more events but also the talent to win them,” Zellner said.
The distance team will include several members from a Hawks cross country team that placed second at the 2015 NJCAA Division III Women’s Cross Country Championship. Ali Gutt (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg), who placed second individually at nationals, leads the group. Leslie Rosiles (Mount Prospect, Ill./Rolling Meadows), Veronica Brooks (Arlington Heights, Ill./Battle (Mo.)), Dianne Barajas (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Schaumburg), Katie Thevara (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove), Michelle Puma (Wheeling, Ill./Wheeling), and Jacqueline Colon (Des Plaines, Ill./Elk Grove) will all run middle distance or distance as well. Freshman Hristiyana Valeva (/Elk Grove) will join the distance crew.
The group of sprinters will be led by sophomores Kloss and Dussard. Freshmen Ashley Proksa (/Palatine), Jordanne Wynter (/Rolling Meadows), Nancy Leinwander (Inverness, Ill./Fremd), and Beth Petrunich (McHenry, Ill./McHenry East) will all run sprints as well. Petrunich played softball for the Hawks in 2014 and 2015. Proksa will also cover long jump, and Leinwander will look to score points in discus.
First-year athlete Damaris Fuentes (/Larkin) will concentrate on the 100m hurdles. Maggie Madden (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) will cover pole vault, and Harper basketball player Ashonte Sims (Bloomington, Ill. /Normal Community West) will perform in triple jump and possibly some throws.
Fellow basketball player Mary Saitta (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Hoffman Estates) will compete in the throws, including discus, hammer, and javelin. Kloss and Dussard, who earned points in the hammer last year at nationals, will compete again in hammer, and Kloss may also compete in the javelin while Dussard (third place finish at nationals) will be focused on winning the high jump. Newcomer Bobbie Buerer (/Cary-Grove), a successful high jumper, will compete in both high jump and javelin.
New to the staff this season is volunteer assistant coach Dan Lowry, who was the national champion in hammer for the Hawks in 2013. Lowry went on to compete at North Central College and will use his expertise to assist in the throws and weight training. The staff is also comprised of Jim Macnider (Distance), Brian Sullivan (Sprints, Jumps, Weights), and volunteer assistant Eric Wallor (Distance).
Following the UW-Parkside Classic, Harper competes at the Chicagoland Indoor Championships hosted by North Central College on Feb. 12. The Hawks return to North Central for the Cardinal Classic Feb. 19 and then will compete at Carthage Classic on March 4.
Harper opens its outdoor season on March 24 at the Augustana Invite, followed by the Wheaton College Early Invite April 2. The rest of the regular season meets goes as follows: Chicagoland Outdoor Championships hosted by College of DuPage (April 8), Illinois Benedictine Invite (April 15-16), Concordia University Invite (April 22), Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State (April 22), and Carroll University Invite (April 30).
All of this leads to the 2016 NJCAA Division III Women’s Track & Field Championships in Westfield, MA May 7-8. Westfield State University is the host school for the event.
