Conference Meet Provides Big Stage For Big Tiger Success
The Tiger track & field teams turned in their best finishes in years at the NCAC championship meet this weekend.
GAMBIER, Ohio – Head Coach Craig Penney called it one of the "most impressive team efforts" he has seen at Wittenberg, and the Tiger track and field teams backed his words up at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet with a third-place finish for the men and fourth for the women.
The men posted their best team finish since third place in 2005, and the women returned to fourth-place for the first time since 2010.
Two Tiger NCAC individual champions emerged from the weekend. Junior Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) made it two straight outdoor NCAC championships in the men's 100-meter dash with a time of 10.92 seconds, and freshman Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) won the 400-meter hurdles with a final time of 1:04.85, taking 2.5 seconds off of her seed time.
Banjo also picked up points with a fourth-place showing in the 200-meter dash, and led the 4x100-meter relay team to a school record and a second-place finish on a time of 42.06 seconds. Banjo was joined in the relay by junior Chris Frierson (Cedar Hill, Texas/DeSoto), sophomore Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) and freshman Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll).
Yates affixed his name next to another school record by crossing the line in 48.21 seconds in the 400-meter dash to place third. He was one of three runners in the event to break the conference record.
Yates' day was one of the most well-rounded for the Tigers, as he also ran in the third-place 4x400-meter relay, where he was joined by Frierson, freshman Asanka Ekanayake (Clarksburg, Mo./Clarksburg) and freshman Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington Court House). Their time of 3:16.93 was also one of three to break the conference record.
With his 400-meter dash performance, Yates became the highest ranked male Tiger at 19th. The 4x400-relay team ranks 22nd, followed by both the 4x400 relay and Banjo's 100-meter dash at 32nd in NCAA Division III.
Wallace and Ekanayake filled out the rest of the top spots with consecutive finishes of fourth and fifth in the 400-meter hurdles, respectively.
Senior Sven Isaacson (Dalton, Ohio/Dalton) led the way in field events with a third-place finish and personal best of 45.32 meters and scored points in sixth in the discus, while freshman Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) leapt to a third-place finish in the long jump, posting a distance of 6.84 meters. Fisher rounded out the field events with a third-place finish in the triple jump, with a distance of 13.45 meters.
With his 400-meter dash performance, Yates became the highest ranked male Tiger at 19th.
Back on the women's side, Crow added a sixth-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles to expand her contribution to the final standings.
Senior Shawna Johnson (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont) led the 4x100-meter relay to second place and a new school record time of 49.04 seconds, helped the 4x400-meter relay place fifth, and individually took second in the 100-meter dash on a time of 12.75 seconds.
Freshman Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut) also piled on the success with second place in the 200-meter dash on a time of 26.12 seconds, third place in the 400-meter dash on a time of 57.89 seconds, and legs in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Her 400-meter dash performance ranks 42nd in NCAA Division III this year.
Freshman Becah Delp (York, Pa./Eastern York) leapt 5.16 meters for a fourth-place finish in the long jump and added a fifth-place showing in the 100-meter hurdles while also running in the 4x100-meter relay.
Rounding out the teams for the relays were juniors Vanessa Ladd (Columbus, Ohio/Marion Franklin) and Cara Vendeville (Perry, Ohio/Perry) in the 4x100, and Crow in the 4x400.
Other top finishes for the women included sophomore Shelby Kaho (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) placing second in the 100-meter hurdles on a time of 15.44 seconds in what Penney called a "gutsy race," junior Beverly Ochieng (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) jumping into second place in the triple jump with a distance of 10.94 meters, and senior Paige Lloyd (Medina, Ohio/Cloverleaf) grabbing fifth-place in the pole vault at a height of 3.05 meters.
John Strawn '07