Carthage College Athletics would like to recognize the hard work and dedication that the seniors of each spring sport put in during their time on campus. Today, we honor the men's track and field class of Isaiah Brown, Dante Graham, Brandon Gray, Caleb Hays, Aaron Henri, Jacob Labatore, Brady Roegner, Michael Schantek, Eric Schmitt, Zakry Schwartz, Kamren Smith, Trevor Tomich, and Warren Wolchuk.

"When I think about the senior class, many highlights come to mind," says head coach Josh Henry. "This group produced school records, program top-10 performances, the program's first-ever All-American relay team, the program's first track & field All-Academic Team recognition, and even the Carthage College Distinguished Senior Award. I also think about the journey that brought each of these individuals to the accomplishments they achieved over their four years. In many ways, that is the best thing to focus on with this class. It's the journey of establishing their work ethic, character, tenacity, compassion, energy, and leadership. These characteristics enabled this group to be characterized by vast amounts of improvement across the board. In fact, I think if you were to ask each of them, they would be in awe of what they were able to accomplish during their time at Carthage."
 
Our first senior being recognized today is sprinter and jumper Isaiah Brown. The Oswego, Ill native narrowly missed a pair of top-10 finishes at this past year's indoor conference championships in both the long and triple jump, and posted a career-best mark in the 55-meter dash in January with a 7.03. Up next is sprinter Dante Graham from Rio, Wis. Graham posted career-bests this past season in both the 60 and 200-meter dash at the UW Oshkosh Invite, and is a six time CCIW All-Academic honoree between both indoor and outdoor seasons.
 
The next senior in the 2020 class is Brandon Gray, a distance runner from Hastings, Mich. He posted multiple career marks during this past indoor season, highlighted by his best mile time of 4:34.22 at the Carthage Final Qualifier in March. Next is Colfax, Ill. native and thrower Caleb Hays. After picking up first-place finishes in the shot put at three meets during the regular season, Hays set a career mark at the CCIW Indoor Championship with a toss of 15.44 meters to take fourth place.
 
Next up is thrower Aaron Henri. The Lynwood, Ill. native took 22nd overall in the 400 at the conference championship meet, before improving upon his time by over a second at the Carthage Final Qualifier with a 54.17 for a personal best. Distance runner Jacob Labatore is our next senior being recognized today. A Kenosha, Wis. native, Labatore has made the all-conference list every cross country and track and field season he's been on campus, and finished his time with the Red Men on a career-best 800-meter run at the CCIW Championship.
 
Our next senior is a distance runner from Gurnee, Ill., Brady Roegner, who returned to competition this season and clocked a 4:57.74 at the Carthage Final Qualifier in the mile. Michael Schantek, a mid-distance runner from Kenosha, Wis. is next. As a junior, Schantek was a member of the conference title-winning 4x400-meter relay team that took eighth at the indoor championships last season. This past year, he took home four first-place finishes during the 2019-20 indoor season, and finished with a 50.14 in the 400 at the CCIW Championship to take third place.
 
Next is Eric Schmitt, a distance runner from Chatham, Ill. A member of the CCIW All-Academic list every season while at Carthage, Schmitt set personal bests in four events this year, capped off with a 15:59.28 in the 5,000-meter run at the conference championship to take 11th. The next senior in the 2020 track and field class is Zakry Schwartz. A distance runner from here in Kenosha, Wis., he took home three top-four finishes this season, including a first-place performance in the 3,000 at the UW Parkside Classic with a 9:27.84.
 
Next up is Kamren Smith, a sprinter from Joliet, Ill. who has been named academic all-conference every season with the Red Men. Smith was recently selected by the college as the 2020 Distinguished Senior Award winner. A distance runner who joined the program from South Elgin, Ill., Trevor Tomich has also pulled in numerous all-academic accolades, and set personal bests in the mile, 3,000-meter run, and 5,000-meter run this past season. Our final senior we'd like to recognize is Warren Wolchuk from Kenosha, Wis. The distance runner also set career marks in the mile, 3,000-meter run and 5,000-meter run this season, and has taken home an all-academic honor from the CCIW at the end of every season with the program.
 
"I couldn't be more proud of how these guys carried themselves when their senior years were cut short by the COVID-19 Pandemic," says Henry. "No one complained, no one thought selfishly, and no one put up a fight. They all carried on with a quiet dignity that is truly impressive. I can confidently say, if we had a normal outdoor season, there would be many more accomplishments this group would be celebrating today. However, that is not what their journey will be defined by. It will be defined by their hard work, their leadership, and their dignity through some of the most challenging times imaginable for a collegiate athlete. That example will live on within our program and they can move on in their lives knowing their outstanding efforts made our program better. I feel the following quote from Arthur Ashe represents this group and their journey well: 'Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.' Thank you seniors!"

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