Men’s Indoor
Coming off its first Cross Country title since 2008 head coach Erik Jenkins and the Men’s WKU Track and Field team had their eyes set on the first triple-crown in school history.
Sophomore distance runner David Mokone set the tone for the 2012 indoor season after breaking the WKU 800-meter indoor record twice in a three-week span. Mokone’s 1:48.61 mark at the SPIRE Invitational now stands at the top of the Hilltopper record books.
Mokone continued to blaze his way through competition at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships by winning the mile run in a championship record time of 4:10.08. Mokone also finished second in the 800-meters and anchored a third-place distance relay team to capture the meet’s Most Outstanding Track Performer honor.
Fellow distance runners Deus Rwaheru (senior) , Joseph Chebet (junior) and Peter Okwera (freshman) scored significant points for the Hilltoppers. Rwaheru notched a win in the 5,000-meters with a 14:27.82 mark. Okwera earned second place honors in the 5,000-meters and a third place finish in the mile. Chebet finished second in the mile. Mokone, Rwaheru, Chebet and Okwera were named All-Sun Belt performers for their efforts.
Chebet also made a splash by winning the 3,000-meters, setting the Sun Belt Inoor Conference record at 8:11.8 in the process.
Field events were highlighted by the throwers Houston Croney (junior) and Buddy Price (senior). Croney captured the title in the men’s weight with a 60-6.50 toss while Price finished third with a 59-8.25 mark. Both Croney and Price earned All-Sun Belt honors.
Other All Sun-Belt performers included Marcus Pope (senior), Karlis Daube (junior), Marcus Winstead (sophomore) and De’Myco Winston (sophomore). Pope won the 55-meter hurdles with a 7.34-second clocking while Daube finished third at 7.44. Pope set the WKU Indoor record in the 60-meter hurdles at 7.91 earlier in the season. Winstead and Winston earned their honors in the 400-meter dash, finishing second and third, respectively.
At the conclusion of the Sun Belt Track and Field Indoor Championships WKU totaled 160.5 points, good enough for its third indoor title since 2008.
Coach Jenkins was named Sun Belt Conference Indoor Coach of the Year.
Women's Indoor
Winners of 18 straight Sun Belt Conference Championships in the Triple Crown, the WKU Women’s Track and Field team had high expectations for the 2012 Indoor Season.
Two names ruled the headlines for the Lady Toppers in 2012: Monteka Flowers and Jade Nimmo.
Flowers was the lone individual champion in a tightly contested Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field Championships, capturing the shot-put title with a 47-foot toss. The senior also earned All-Sun Belt honors in the weight throw after placing second.
Nimmo, a sophomore, notched All-Sun Belt honors in the long jump after a second-place finish of 20-05.75. Nimmo was also the lone Lady Topper representative at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where she placed 12th with a jump of 20-02.25. Nimmo’s efforts earned her second-team All-America honors.
Another young, bright spot came in the pole-vaulting performance of Karleigh Parker. Parker set and re-set the WKU record books in her first year on the Hill, ultimately placing the pole-vault record at 12-1.5. Parker’s WKU-record mark came at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships, where she finished second to earn All-Sun Belt honors.
Other All-Sun Belt honorees included senior Monica Akello and sophomore Gelela Cooley. Akello finished runner-up in the 800-meters with a time of 2:12.35 while Cooley notched second-place in the 200-meter dash.
The 19th straight title proved elusive, as the Lady Toppers finished 5th at the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Men’s Outdoor
Distance runners were the core of WKU’s Sun Belt Indoor Track and Field Championship and the story was no different during the outdoor season.
It was sophomore sensation David Mokone carving the path to success once again, setting and re-setting records during the regular outdoor season. Mokone’s mark of 1:48.06 at the Mt. SAC Relays now stands as WKU’s 800-meter record. Mokone won two more Sun Belt titles at the Outdoor Track and Field Championships, finishing first in the 800 and 1,500-meter races. He was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Track Performer for his championship efforts.
Junior Joseph Chebet captured his first Sun Belt title in the 5,000-meters, clocking a Sun Belt Outdoor Championship record 14:00.64. The Hilltoppers snatched the All-Sun Belt sweep in the event as senior Deus Rwaheru and freshman Peter Okwera finished second and third, respectively.
Chebet also snatched a title in record fahsion during the 10,000 meter race, crossing the line at 30:13.35. He placed 5th in the 1,500 meters to become the meet's Top Point Scorer.
Junior Kyle Chettleburgh scored another title for the Hilltoppers, winning the steeplechase in 9:10.69. Okwera finished third to garner All-Sun Belt honors.
Sophomore De’Myco Winston won the 400-meter dash title with a personal best time of 46.29 seconds, becoming just the third Hilltopper to ever break 47-seconds in the event.
Senior Ignacio Guerra was the lone field champion for WKU, winning the javelin throw for the second-straight year with a toss of 237.2.
Other All-Sun Belt performers included Marcus Pope, Karlis Daube, Marcus Winstead and Cailean Robinson. Pope notched a pair of All-Sun Belt honors by finishing second in the 400-meter hurdles and third in the 110-meter hurdles. Daube, Winstead and Robinson joined Winston on the third-place finishing 4X100-meter relay.
The overall efforts of the men’s track squad earned WKU its fifth straight Sun Belt Outdoor title and its first Triple Crown in school history.
The season didn’t end at the conference championships, however, as three Hilltoppers advanced to the NCAA championships. Guerra finished his stellar WKU career with a 4th place finish in the javelin throw and garnered first-team All-America honors for the second straight season. Chebet represented the Hilltoppers in the 5,000-meters, crossing the line at 23rd. Pope also closed out his career in memorable fashion, placing 24th in the 400-meter hurdles.
Women's Outdoor
The 2012 Outdoor season proved to be much more successful for the Lady Toppers but was once again highlighted by the performances of Flowers and Nimmo.
At the Hilltopper Relays Nimmo shattered WKU’s long jump record by five inches, jumping 21-2.75. Even more impressively, Nimmo, a Scotland native, broke Scotland’s longest-standing athletic record with the jump. The previous record had stood since 1973. Nimmo’s jump also landed her Sun Belt Field Performer of the Week honors. At the Sun Belt Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships she finished third in the long jump, good enough to earn All-Sun Belt honors.
Flowers issued her dominance during the Sun Belt Track and Field Outdoor Championships, where she captured titles in the shot put and hammer throws. She also finished runner-up in discus. Her efforts resulted in her being named the meet’s Most Outstanding Field performer.
Cooley was another Lady Topper with a solid outdoor season, posting a runner-up finish in the 400-meter dash and a third in the 200-meter dash at the Sun Belt Outdoor Championships. Cooley also anchored WKU’s third place 4X400-meter relay team to earn All-Sun Belt honors in three events.
Senior distance runner Michelle Finn ended her career on a high note, capturing a title and school record in the steeplechase. She also crossed the line second in the 5,000-meters and third in the 1,500 meters for all-conference honors.
WKU finished second in the team standings behind North Texas.
Flowers, Nimmo and Cooley each represented the Lady Toppers at the NCAA East Preliminaries in their respective events.
Flowers was the lone Lady Topper to advance to the NCAA Championships after tossing the discus a WKU-record 170-5 feet. At the NCAA Championships she finished her illustrious career 15th in the discus to secure second-team All-America honors.
