College track: Strong finishes from Harper in Zellner's finale
Over the weekend in Columbia, Md., the illustrious track and field coaching career of Renee Zellner came to a close as Harper College competed in the NJCAA Division III national championships.
Her athletes gave Zellner a winning farewell.
Two-time event champion Ali Gutt said she and her teammates wanted to do all they could for their coach.
"We wanted to leave everything on the track," Gutt.
The Harper women finished second in the team standings, just 11 points away from the lead, and the men's team took sixth.
Kingsborough (NY) Community College took home both team titles. Harper was the first NJCAA school to accomplish that feat, in 2011 under Zellner's watch.
The Harper women won multiple individual championships, including in a sweep of the 1,500 meters led by Dianne Barajas (4:54.60), Gutt (second) and Natalie Cook (third). The same three Hawks runners, in the same order, placed 2-3-4 in the 800.
Breanna Bogucki scored 8 points with her second-place finish (19:50.97) in the 5,000.
The relay teams scored points all weekend. Nancey Leinwander, Maya Mason, Ashley Proksa and anchor Melissa Rodriguez finished fourth in the 4x100.
In the 4x800, Gutt, Barajas and Cook helped Harper to victory, this time with Rodriguez running the leadoff leg. Harper also took fourth in the 4x100 relay.
In the field events Bobbie Buerer was third in the hammer throw (35.41 meters) and the discus (31.55 meters).
Proksa found herself standing on the top spot of the podium after her winning 5.34-meter effort in the long jump.
Gutt, a Schaumburg grad, has opted to continue her athletic career at Eastern Illinois, becoming the second Harper runner to receive a scholarship with the Panthers in recent years. She will major in graphic design.
"When I went on my visit, I instantly fell in love with the team," Gutt said.
• Scott Williams was the only member of them men's team to win a national title after coming up with the top performance in the 10,000 meters (34:13.80). In that same event, Harper's Robert Douglas placed third.
Keyshawn Brown also scored points for the Hawks with his fourth-place finish in the long jump (6.48 meters) and triple jump (sixth).
Other top Harper efforts included Bobby Wos in the pole vault (second), Ryan Ziolkowski in the 3,000 steeplechase and 1,500 run (fifth in both) and Hyaan Khan in the high jump (fifth),
Softball honors: Three members of the Harper softball team have earned postseason honors.
Hawks offensive standout Peyton Arenson was voted second team all region to go along with her placment on the first team all-conference squad. Kim Labahn, who pitched both games of the Region IV tournament two weeks ago, was named to the Region IV all-tournament team along with second team all-conference. Izzy McGuinnis joins Arenson on the second team all-conference list.