June 3, 2003
 

Taylor, Rawlins, Gorsage Earn 2003 IWU Track Honors

 BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Junior Gianina Taylor and sophomore Gena Rawlins and sophomore Zach Gorsage have been chosen "Most Valuable Perfomers" for the Illinois Wesleyan University women's and men's track teams, respectively.

At the NCAA Division III national outdoor women’s track meet in May, Rawlins (Atlanta, Stanford Olympia HS) earned All-American status by finishing third with a time of 55.19 seconds in the 400 while teammate Taylor (Decatur, Eisenhower HS) was eighth (55.82), also an All-American performance.

Rawlins was also an indoor All-American in the 400 with her fourth place finish (57.07).

Taylor and Rawlins teamed with freshman Melissa Harden (O’Fallon, Township HS) and senior Michelle Dionne (Pana HS) to race to a ninth-place national outdoor finish in the 4x100 relay (48.02 seconds) while sophomore Katie O’Rourke (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS) joined Taylor, Rawlins and Dionne to earn an eighth place finish in the 4x400 relay with a mark of 3:55.48.

At the Division III indoor track championships in March, Taylor, Dionne and Rawlins joined Nicole Williams (Park Forest, Crete-Monee HS) to form the 4x400 relay team that shattered the school record while finishing third in 3:51.48 seconds.

Also at the Division III indoor meet, Gorsage (Washington, Peoria Notre Dame HS) overcame a slow start and finished seventh in the 55 hurdles (7.60) to earn All-America status.

In other team honors, Bryan Timm (Aurora, Marmion Academy HS) and Harden were selected as IWU's "Most Valuable Freshmen" while sophomore Valerie Lambrecht (Wheaton, North HS) earned the women’s “Hardest Worker” honor.
Timm had the Titans’ best time in the outdoor 400 with a run of 50.53 seconds and was part of two indoor record-setting relay teams (4x800 and distance medley).
In addition to the relay at the national outdoor meet, Harden placed ninth in the 100 hurdles with a time of 15.45 seconds. She holds the IWU outdoor record in the 100 hurdles (14.87) and has the indoor mark for the 55 hurdles (8.55).
Lambrecht set the IWU indoor records for the 3000 and 5000 this winter and set the outdoor record in the 5000 with a time of 19:07.17 in April.

Tom Tague (LaPorte, Ind., HS), Matt Melick (Danvers, Stanford Olympia HS) and Joe Binder (Decatur, St. Teresa HS) earned the “Team Player” award for the men’s team while the same honor went to Melinda Sprague (Ballwin, Mo, Parkway West HS) for the women’s squad.
Sprague set the outdoor record for the 3000 steeplechase with a time of 11:53 and set the school indoor records for the 1000 meter and 1500 meter runs.

Head women’s coach Chris Schumacher, whose women's team finished tied for 29th at the Division III national outdoor women’s track meet, awarded letters to 15 women and head men’s coach Jason Williams awarded letters to 13 men. The letterwinners are, with hometowns and high schools:

WOMEN

SENIOR - Michelle Dionne (Pana HS); Cathy Maynard (Frankfort, New Lenox Lincoln Way HS); Betsy Yoder (Goshen, Ind., Fairfield HS).
JUNIORS - Gianina Taylor (Decatur, Eisenhower HS); Nicole Williams (Park Forest, Crete-Monee HS); Tara Yoder (Danvers, Stanford Olympia HS).
SOPHOMORES - Valerie Lambrecht (Wheaton, North HS), Katie O’Rourke (Bloomington, Central Catholic HS), Gena Rawlins (Atlanta, Stanford Olympia HS).
FRESHMEN ­ Melissa Harden (O’Fallon, Township HS), Breanne Johnson (Arlington Heights, Prospect HS); Kristy Lehan (DeKalb HS); Dale Marshall (St. Louis, Mo, Visitation Academy), Molly May (Mt. Prospect, Prospect HS); Melinda Sprague (Ballwin, Mo, Parkway West HS).

MEN

SENIORS - Eric Hughes (Chillicothe, IVCC HS); Matt Melick (Danvers, Stanford Olympia HS); Tom Tague (LaPorte, Ind. HS).
JUNIORS ­ Jim Lehan (DeKalb HS).
SOPHOMORES ­ Mike Bragg (Shorewood, Joliet West HS); Jake Clough (Carbondale HS); Chip Corwin (Cadillac, Mich., HS); Josh Evans (Sycamore HS); Zach Gorsage (Washington, Peoria Notre Dame HS); Tim Hachmeister (Elmhurst, IMSA); Dave Miller (Western Springs, Lyons Township HS); Clint Warren (Ottawa, Serena HS).
FRESHMAN ­ Bryan Timm (Aurora, Marmion Academy HS).
 
 

MEDIA NOTE: For quotes and comments on individual athletes, contact head women’s coach Chris Schumacher at (309) 556-3624 or head men’s coach Jason Williams at (309) 556-2033.