History of Jewell Track & Field
The track & field program at William Jewell College can trace its beginnings to the campus’ “Annual Field Day” which began in 1883. This event was held each spring to select the best all-around athlete in the various track and field events. The Annual Field Day was open only to Jewell students and was one of the most popular events on campus at the time. The first statewide track meet among Missouri colleges was held in 1898 and track & field became a full-fledged activity at William Jewell College from 1900 on. The Annual Field Day in 1900 was a particularly exciting one as a new running track had been constructed on campus. In previous years, the track events had been held at the local fairgrounds. Inside the track oval, which was almost a half-mile around, a field for baseball and football was constructed.
In 1904, the Annual Field Day was resumed after it had been canceled the previous year due to rain. In addition, a track meet was held between Jewell and the Kansas City Athletic Club. In the following years, the Jewell track team continued to compete against the Kansas City Athletic Club with the program’s first indoor meet taking place in 1908. Dual meets were also held with the Kansas City YMCA. The spring of 1908 was the first year that the track team had a full time coach in Alpha Brummage.
In 1912, the track schedule was greatly expanded with the indoor meet hosted by the Kansas City Athletic Club and dual meets with Washburn and Baker. The Annual Field Day which had long been so popular began to give way to intercollegiate meets. Jewell won the first state track meet held in Kansas City. The scores were Jewell, 53; Tarkio, 35; Central, 13; Westminster, 9; Kirksville, 5; and Drury, 1. The half-mile relay team of Martin, McHenry, Bowman, and Lewis set a state record of 1:36 in the half-mile relay. In 1913, the track team won the state track meet held at Kirksville, in 1914 in Fayette, in 1915, in 1916 in Tarkio, and in 1917. Because of World War I, Jewell did not enter the state meet in 1918.
Jewell returned to the state meet in 1919 and walked away with yet another title. In 1920, the Cardinals failed to win the state championship which had been evolving into the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) since 1912. The meet in Cameron was won by Missouri Wesleyan. In 1924, the MIAA split with the state teachers colleges remaining in the MIAA and the private institutions forming the Missouri College Athletic Union (MCAU). The Cardinals remained in the MCAU until 1971 as it reorganized into the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC).
The first cross country team was fielded in 1951 but cross country did not become a full-fledged sport at Jewell until 1955. Although it was not a conference sport yet, many colleges were fielding teams. Jewell’s first cross country coach was Jim Nelson who led the Cardinals to a 3-2 season.
In the spring of 1980, Jewell added women’s track & field to the sports program. The team was formed through the initiative of Sally Merrell and Jill Adams. Ron Waggener became the coach. The team consisted of only five members: Co-Captains Sally Merrell and Jill Adams, plus Ana Luisa Koshe, Cheri Quier, and Sherri Waugh. At the Northwest Missouri Relays, Cheri Quier became the first female track athlete to compete for William Jewell, placing seventh in the 5000-meter run; Sally Merrell became the first female athlete to earn a medal in track and field. Sally placed third in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.8
In July of 2009, Jewell was admitted into the first candidacy year of membership in the NCAA’s Division II. In 2011, William Jewell College began competing in a full conference schedule in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The men’s 4x200m relay team of Josh Duncan, Clint Ederer, Alex Hughes and Chris Speed was the first at Jewell to capture a GLVC title in any event in any sport at the GLVC Indoor Track & Field Championships on February 24, 2012 hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Logan Pettz followed suit as the first individual to claim a GLVC crown by winning the indoor heptathlon. Britany Riley and Jessica Borey were the first female athletes to win a GLVC Championship by taking first in the javelin and pole vault, respectively, at the GLVC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 4, 2012 hosted by St. Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, Indiana.
Many thanks are given to Coach Norris Patterson whose book, A Century of Cardinal Sports: William Jewell College provided much of the information presented here. His tireless efforts to chronicle the history of the athletics programs at William Jewell College will benefit many for years to come.
Explore the following pages to learn more about the history of the cross country and track & field programs at William Jewell College
National Champions | All-Americans | National Qualifiers | Conference Champions | All-Academic | Men’s Conference Finishes | Women’s Conference Finishes | Coaches
