Matt Hewson Assistant Coach -- Matt Hewson is the newest addition to the Aquinas track & field staff. A 2010 Aquinas graduate and a four-year letter-winner in track & field Hewson was a driving force behind the Saints three WHAC Outdoor Championships during the 2008-2010 seasons.

An accomplished sprinter during his collegiate career Hewson was a consistent scorer in the indoor and outdoor WHAC Conference Meets for Aquinas and participated in three NAIA National Meets. Hewson's leadership skills were recognized by the track & field program when the Captain's Award was renamed the Matt Hewson Captain's Award following his graduation in 2010.

Hewson will work with the sprinters and hurdlers.

Sprints/Hurdles

The Lady Saints have some big shoes to fill this season after graduating three seniors from last year. Samantha DeStefano and Joordn Hall graduated from the program with a combined seven top five performances, three school records, and both of them were members of all five top five 4x100m relay teams.  The Saints will be led this year by junior Brooke Fuller of Manchester, and sophomores Dana Kolnitys of Tawas, Fiana Comer of East Kentwood and Kaitlyn Henninger of St. Charles. With Kolnitys the only returning member of the 4x100m relay team, the Saints will look to rebuild with some exciting new prospects in Marissa Ingersoll of Forest Area, Micaila Rice of Schoolcraft and Courtney Klawieter of Rockford.  Klawieter will also join Comer and Henninger coming off strong first seasons to bring the women’s 4x400m relay back to being a conference contender. The Lady Saints hurdlers will be led by sophomore Erika Heston of Haslett. Owning the #4 outdoor 100 hurdle and #3  indoor 60 hurdle performances and a two- time national qualifier last season, Heston is back for more and will look to guide freshmen Alex King of Lakeview and Kasey Blank of Forest Hills Eastern to follow in her footsteps. Kolnitys will also be joining the hurdling group this year and is excited to see what she can accomplish with her new event.

Jumps

The Lady Saints vault crew will once again be a solid group of contenders. The Saints return junior Alicia Dorko of Schoolcraft who holds both indoor and outdoor school records and is a three-time national qualifier and earned All-American Honors during the 2012 indoor season.  Juniors Emily Sarros of Forest Hills Eastern and Marika Rietsema of Byron Center are also both on the Saints indoor and outdoor ‘Top 5’ lists in the pole vault and first year vault Coach Ray Lohner is excited about what they may accomplish this season.

Throws

The Saints return three- time All-American and five- time national qualifier Emily Smith of Port Huron. Emily holds the school record in the 20 lb. weight throw indoors, the #3 throws in both the discus and shot put outdoors, and the #4 throw in the hammer outdoors.  Joining Emily is senior Rachel Bartels of Grand Blanc who specializes in the 20 lb.weight and the hammer throw, freshmen Kyra Hull from Forest Hills Eastern and freshmen Elizabeth Carpenter of Michigan City, Indiana.

Middle Distance

Once the backbone of the team; the women’s middle distance group has fallen on lean times over the last couple of seasons.  An inflection of talented and motivated individuals has the coaching staff excited to get this group back to its hay-day.  Senior Jackie Katt will look to freshman Mary Bogardus, Crysta Paganelli, Allison VanPatten and Taylor Pryde to lead the charge.  The fact that this group is young may make for some early “growing pains”, but the long term growth and development of this group has loads of potential.  The team will focus on qualifying the relays this year and building a great base for future seasons.

Distance

The women’s distance crew will be one of the strengths of the 2013 squad.  The women recently finished seventh at NAIA Cross Country National Championships (the highest finish in school history) and will look to build on their successes from the fall.  The Saints will be led up front by All-WHAC XC performers Rachael Steil, Britta Patterson and Carley Woolcott.  Added depth in the distance events will be provided by Catie Rietsema, Emily Hazelbach and Kelsey Carpenter.  The crew will focus on a strong winter base building phase and will really look for some outstanding performances once they hit the outdoor tracks.