Carthage College Athletics

The Carthage College men’s track and field team (24-15-1 outdoor record) played host to the 2009 College conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis.. and the Red Men finished third. North Central (Ill.) College won its 32nd league championship and 24th in a row with 278.50 points, followed by Augustana College (Ill.) second at 246, Carthage third at 140.50, Wheaton College (Ill.) fourth at 44, Illinois Wesleyan University fifth at 35, Elmhurst College sixth at 34, Millikin University seventh at 21 and North Park University eighth with 18 points.

Carthage’s Buzzy Brown (Jr., Naperville, Ill/Neuqua Valley) won the outdoor long jump (23-1 ¼) and finished second in both the 100-meter dash (11.12) and the 200-meter dash (22.45). Prentis Wilbourn (So., Racine, Wis./Case) won the triple jump (46-0) and finished third in the long jump (21-11 ½). Kenton Rauwerdink (Sr., Hingham, Wis./Oostburg) won the decathlon (6,269 points), and Spencer Williams (Sr., Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) won the shot put (50-8 ¼). Joel Brunner (Sr., De Pere, Wis./West De Pere) finished second in the 800-meter run (1:56.76), as did Nate Hughes (Sr., Antioch, Ill.) in the javelin (173-5). Josh Brennan (So., Geneva, Ill.) and Jon Kochmit (Sr., Park Ridge, Ill./Maine South) tied for second place in the hammer throw (171-9 each). Brad Fortney (So., Antioch, Ill.) finished third in the shot put (48-5 ¼).

Carthage had two qualifiers for the NCAA Division III Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship. Jon Kochmit qualified in the hammer throw and Buzzy Brown in the long jump. Kochmit finished ninth in the hammer throw (172-2) and earned United States Track Coaches Association All-America honors. Brown did not qualify for the finals in the long jump. This 2009 championship was conducted at Marietta College’s Don Drumm Stadium in Marietta, Ohio.

Carthage (60-16 indoor record), ranked 10th in the final, regular-season U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division III indoor poll, had two entrants in the 2009 NCAA Division III Men’s Indoor Track and Field Championship at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Ind. Buzzy Brown finished eighth in the long jump (23-0) and earned NCAA All-America honors. Spencer Williams finished ninth in the shot put (52-3 ¾). The Red Men tied for 66th place in the championship.

Carthage finished third at the 2009 CCIW Indoor Track and Field Championship at the Illinois Wesleyan University Shirk Center in Bloomington, Ill. North Central (Ill.) College won its ninth-consecutive CCIW indoor title with 222 points, followed by Augustana College (Ill.) second at 174, Carthage third at 124, Illinois Wesleyan fourth at 48, Wheaton College (Ill.) fifth at 36, Millikin University sixth at 28, Elmhurst College seventh at 25 and North Park University eighth with six points

Buzzy Brown won the indoor long jump (23-1 ¼), while finishing fourth in the 200-meter dash (22.78). Spencer Williams won the shot put (50-7 ½). Joel Brunner was second in the one-mile run (4:14.34), as was Prentis Wilbourn in the triple jump (45-3), Jarrayl Johnson (So., Flossmoor, Ill./South Holland-Thornwood) in the shot put (49-9 ¾) and Jon Kochmit in the weight throw (53-4 ¼). Dan Hrvatin (Jr., Plano, Ill./Joliet-Catholic Academy) finished third in the 55-meter dash (6.53), as did Derek Hall (Fr.., Ingleside, Ill./Fox Lake-Grant Community) in the 800-meter run (1:55.96), Mike Oratowski (Fr., Wheaton, Ill,/Glen Ellyn-Glenbard South) in the 55-meter high hurdles (8.10) and Josh Brennan in the weight throw (51-4 ½).

Buzzy Brown won the long jump six times during the 2009 indoor season in nine different weekend events. He took first place at the Jan. 10 Carthage Opener, the Jan. 24 Wisconsin-Whitewater Invitational, the Jan. 31 Carthage “Tadd Metzger Invitational,” the Feb. 21 Wisconsin-Stevens Point “East Bay Invitational,” the Feb. 27-28 CCIW Indoor Championship and at the March 6 Carthage “Gill Athletics Last Chance Invitational.”