Butler Men, Women Place Fourth At Horizon League Championship

May 7, 2004

Complete Results

Butler junior Victoria Mitchell won four events, set two league records and walked away with the top running performer award at the 2004 Horizon League Track and Field Championship at the Michael A. Carroll Track and Field Stadium on Friday, May 7. The Bulldogs wound up placing fourth in both the men's and women's final standings.

Mitchell, who won the 3,000 meter steeplechase in a league record 10:26.51 on Thursday night (May 6), captured the 800 meter run, the 1,500 meter run and the 5,000 meter run on Friday. She won the 5,000, her third race of the day, in 17:08.46, breaking the league record of 17:16.03 set by Jessica Kuhr of Wright State. Her effort also broke the Butler record of 17:10.22, set by Heather Holzer in 1995. Mitchell's winning time in the 800 was 2:13.66, and her first place time in the 1,500 was 4:35.79.

Following the competition, Mitchell was named the meet's Most Outstanding Performer for Running Events. She became the first athlete in league history to win four events!

Butler also picked up an outstanding performance from sophomore Brandon Cook, who earned the title of the league's "fastest man." He won the 100 meter dash in 11.17 and then captured the 200 meter dash in 21.89. Cook became the first Butler athlete to sweep both sprint races at the Horizon League championship.

Senior Brad Bennett won the league 5,000 meter title with a time of 14:51.41. Also, winning individual titles for the Bulldogs were junior Nick Goodliffe and sophomore Monica Behney, both of whom captured the 10,000 meter run on Thursday.

Junior Andrew Sherman broke his own school record in the 800 meter run while placing second behind Jack Szczepaniuk of Detroit. Szczepaniuk came from behind in the final 75 yards and finished in a league record 1:49.90, while Sherman finished in 1:50.80 - .08 better than his previous lifetime best. The top three finishers in the 800 all topped the previous Horizon League record of 1:51.29!

The Bulldogs posted runner-up finishes in both the men's 1,500 meter run and the women's 5,000 meter run on the final day of competition. Junior Tom Frazer placed second in the 1,500 in 3:51.27, while Behney was runner-up in the 5,000 in 17:23.80.

UW-Milwaukee won the men's team title for the sixth time in seven years. Loyola finished second, followed by Youngstown State, Butler, Detroit and UIC. Youngstown State won the women's crown for the first time. UW-Milwaukee finished runner-up, followed by Detroit, Butler, Loyola, UIC and Wright State.