The Grand View men's track & field team enters the 2010 season as the reigning Midwest Collegiate Conference indoor and outdoor champions and with a strong group of returning athletes and quality newcomers they will look to defend their conference titles this season.

Head coach Jerry Monner returns an excellent group of sprinters including 2009 indoor national qualifier in the 60m dash, Titus Bland, along with national qualifying 4x100m relay teammates Lawrence Furlow, Jarvis Henderson, and Phil Cooper. Last season the Vikings 4x100m relay team won the Drake Relays Iowa College Division and competed at the NAIA National Championships. Returning senior Brian Dewey along with newcomers Tariq White and Justin Myers will add quality depth to this already strong event area for the Vikings.

First year assistant coach Miradieu Joseph has a good core of hurdlers to develop this season. Senior Matt Smalley and sophomore Pete Westerkamp are two of the top returning hurdlers in the conference. Smalley was the conference runner-up indoor and outdoor in the 55m and 110m hurdles. Westerkamp placed 3^rd in both the 110m hurdles and 400m hurdles at the MCC outdoor championships. Freshman Cory Kunze placed 6^th in the 110m hurdles at the Iowa High School Class 2A state meet and should continue his success at the college level.

The Viking Throws Crew headed up by throws coach Seth Roberson should once again produce some big points for the team. They return national qualifiers Jordan Adams and Tyler Wells. Adams dominated the conference in the wt. throw last season and is a two-time national qualifier in the event. Wells qualified for the outdoor national meet in the shot put and will continue to be one of the top throwers in the MCC this season. They also add freshmen Artay Erby and Cy Williams who are both experienced throwers that will continue to develop throughout the season.

The distance runners have added some depth this season and are coming off a solid cross country season where they placed 3^rd at the MCC Championships this Fall. Junior Alan Paton is the top returner having scored at the conference meet in the steeplechase, 5000m, and 10,000m runs last spring. Sophomore Drew Messerschmidt will be a contributor in the mid-distance events after placing 4^th in the 1500m at the outdoor conference championships in May. They will be joined by newcomers Nick Newbury, Taelor Bohnsack, and Austin Ward.

Second year jumps coach Bri Hahn returns the indoor conference champion in the long jump with senior Steven Hughes. Hughes also won the indoor high jump title and placed 4^th in the triple jump. Along with Hughes coach Hahn will have returners Titus Bland and Jarvis Henderson competing in both the long and triple jump events this season. The freshman duo of Justin Meyers and Cory Kunze were both high school state meet qualifiers in the long jump and should contribute this season.

The Vikings will open up their indoor season on January 16^th at the University of Northern Iowa - Panther Open in Cedar Falls. The team will have their sites set on the Midwest Collegiate Conference Championships being held on February 13^th and the NAIA Indoor National Championships on March 4^th-6^th in Johnson City, Tenn.