Not coincidentally, this is also the third year that Monmouth has fielded men’s teams in all 10 varsity sports recognized by the league.

"Winning the All-Sports trophy a reflection of a lot of hard work by our coaches and also reflects the competitive balance throughout our entire athletic program," said Monmouth athletic director Terry Glasgow.

Monmouth scored 79 points to finish five points ahead of runner-up Grinnell. Rounding out the 10 conference schools were St. Norbert, 71; Ripon, 61.5; Carroll, 52; Lawrence, 47.5; Illinois College, 45.5; Beloit, 43.5; Lake Forest, 35; and Knox, 33.

Ten points are awarded to each sport’s conference champ, and Monmouth attained that score three times with titles in indoor and outdoor track and men’s golf. Monmouth also earned 9.5 points in cross country thanks to a first-place tie with Grinnell. Points descend from there, and the men got nine points from swimming, 8.5 from football, eight from baseball and seven from tennis.

Monmouth’s women placed fourth, just one point shy of second place behind champion St. Norbert (72). To their victories in indoor and outdoor track, Monmouth added fourth-place finishes in golf and swimming and had no weak spots, scoring at least four points in very sport.

"I’m equally as pleased by the strong showing by our women," said Glasgow. "They were also very competitive, and I think the athletes on both sides feel good about what we’re doing here."

Grinnell claimed second place with 66.5 points, just ahead of Carroll (66) and Monmouth (65.5). The rest of the list included Beloit, 59.5; Lake Forest, 54.5; Ripon, 50; Lawrence, 43; Illinois College, 42.5; and Knox, 20.5.

The Midwest Conference has been awarding the All-Sports title on the men’s side since 1969. On the women’s side, the first champion was crowned in 1979.