McKendree University Men's Track

Mendez Head Coach Coach Mendez enters his fifth year at the helm of the cross country and track and field programs for both the mens and womens teams. Over the last four years, the program has set and broken over ten school records, garnered 80 GLVC All-Conference athletes, 34 GLVC Champions, 20 Midwest All-Region recipients, 20 NCAA National Qualifiers, and four NCAA All-Americans. Throughout his tenure student athletes have also accumulated 10 GLVC Athlete of the week and four GLVC Athlete of the Year awards. Each of the programs have also accumulated many academic accolades. The teams have tallied seven GLVC All-Academic Team Awards, 137 GLVC Academic All-Conference Individual selections, four GLVC Council of Presidents Academic Excellence Award recipients, 11 All-Academic awarded individuals, and two All-Academic teams. In the fall of 2012, Mendez set out to establish a premier Division II program as McKendree became full active members of the NCAA in 2013. In four years, the programs have grown to almost 90 athletes targeting both local and out of state recruits. The cross country and track and field programs look to establish themselves in the 2016-2017 season amongst the top programs in the GLVC and begin the quest to become a reputable program amongst the Division II national ranks. A native of Plainfield, Illinois, Mendez was an accomplished Track and Cross Country athlete in both high school and as a McKendree student athlete. In his four years at McKendree he helped the Bearcats establish two school records, a 4th-place team finish at the 2007 Track and Field Outdoor NAIA National Championships, 8th-place team finish at the 2009 Cross Country NAIA National Championships, and the conference triple-crown in 2010 (Cross Country, Indoor Track, Outdoor Track). Mendez was a 4-time All-Conference performer in Cross Country, 2-time NAIA Academic All-American, a 5-time NAIA All-American, and 2-time NAIA National Champion. Mendez coaches events including the 400 meter through the 10k, Jumps, Multis, and the Javelin for the Bearcats.   Mendez currently resides in Lebanon, Illinois and still competes in both running and triathlon events.       Michael Mendez

Duckworth came to McKendree University in the spring of 2013. Duckworth serves as an assistant coach for both the Bearcats mens and womens volleyball programs. Duckworth has been instrumental in the development of both McKendree volleyball programs. He helped head coach Nickie Sanlin build the Bearcats' men's volleyball program from scratch. McKendree first took the court with an all-freshman roster in 2014 and proceeded to record eight victories in its inaugural campaign. The Bearcats then became full members of the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) in 2015, which is one of the top NCAA Division I-II leagues in the nation. McKendree responded by boosting its win total to 11 in its sophomore season, going 11-19 overall. The Bearcats grabbed their first-ever MIVA win at home on Feb. 28 with a four-set victory over IPFW, which was Duckworth's former collegiate program. With the women's program, Duckworth was part of the Bearcats' steady transition into NCAA Division II membership which saw a breakout season in 2014. The Bearcats caught fire down the stretch and finished 11-7 in Great Lakes Valley Conference play. McKendree earned its first-ever GLVC Tournament berth and then knocked off two higher-seeded foes on its way to the league's championship contest. Although the Bearcats fell in five sets in the GLVC title match, the momentum built by the team was enough to give McKendree its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Although the Bearcats were defeated by Truman State University in the NCAA Midwest Regional quarterfinals, the team closed the year with a 20-14 record, marking its first 20-win campaign since 2010.  Duckworth has spent four years working with both men's and women's program for USA Volleyball. Since 2006, he has coached in the St. Louis High Performance program, tutoring players ranging from 12 to 18 years old. On five different occasions, Duckworth has helped his High Performance teams to a top-25 finish in nationals, with the best coming in a ninth-place showing while coaching the 18U squad in 2011. As a player, Duckworth spent three seasons as a member of the mens volleyball program at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He earned second-team All-Conference honors in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) after putting down more than 300 kills as a sophomore in 2009. Duckworth also collected 50 service aces that season, a mark that still stands in the top five on the Mastadons single-season list. Duckworth continues to compete in regional and national volleyball tournaments. In high school, Duckworth starred at Oakville Senior High School in St. Louis, where he was a three-time All-Conference honoree. In addition, Duckworth was twice named as an All-Metro selection by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and earned the newspapers Player of the Year award following his senior season in 2006. Duckworth also spent three years playing in the St. Louis High Performance program.

Inyart recently graduated from McKendree after a stellar senior season where she ended her career at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships in the spring of 2015. Primarly a distance runner, Inyart looks to build on her experience as a leader and her successful background competing by transitioning into a coaching role this fall. Inyart etched her name in the record books  after breaking long-time marks held by Sarah Korir in both the 1500m and 10,000m as well as helping the distance medley relay break the previously standing mark. Her times of 4:38.48 and 35:28.16 would place her among the top 6 in the GLVC to which her 10,000m effort qualified her to the NCAA championships. Inyart also accumulated two All-Academic awards in her senior season, was a six-time GLVC All-Conference recipient, and earned the Council of Presidents Academic Excellence Award.   Inyart continues to train and race for the Lebanon Project, a new post-collegiate running club located in Lebanon, IL while residing in Belleville, IL. 

Murphy returned to his alma mater during the 2011-12 season as an assistant track and field coach. Murphy coaches the Bearcats sprinters. Murphy returned to McKendree after serving as the head football coach and track and field coach at nearby Wesclin High School. Murphy guided the Warriors football program to a pair of Illinois High School Association (IHSA) state playoff appearances during his six-year stint.   Murphy also led Wesclin to consecutive sectional track championships in 2010 and 2011. He served as an assistant coach at Wesclin in both football and track and field before being elevated to the head coaching role in each sport for the Warriors. On the track, Murphy was an accomplished sprinter and earned NAIA All-America honors as a member of the Bearcats 4 x 100-meter relay team in 2000. He was also a key member of the McKendree indoor track and field squad that captured the NAIA national championship back in 2001. At Macomb High School, Murphy collected state championships in both the 100- and 200-meter dash as well as the 4 x 200-meter relay.   During the first year of being able to compete at the NCAA Championships, Murphy was able to coach three NCAA qualifiers; Jordon Henderson, Cameron James, and Irma Maciukaite . Henderson graduated with back to back GLVC championship titles in the 60m and 100m. At the indoor NCAA Championships he walked away with a 17th place finish. In James sophomore year he was able to place 12th at indoor NCAAs. Maciukaite competing in her first outdoor season for the bearcats finished 1st in the 400H at the GLVC Championships. She also qualified for NCAAs and finished 16th overall.