Tigers Come Out Strong After Busy Weekend

It was another busy weekend for the men's and women's indoor track & field teams, starting Friday evening at the Findlay-Alltel Classic at the University of Findlay and concluding with the North Coast Athletic Conference relays at Denison University on Saturday.

January 30, 2002

Sarah Weide

It was another busy weekend for the men's and women's indoor track & field teams, starting Friday evening at the Findlay-Alltel Classic at the University of Findlay and concluding with the North Coast Athletic Conference relays at Denison University on Saturday.

While no team scores were kept at Findlay, several Wittenberg athletes turned in fine performances. Leading the charge was sophomore Joel Drake(Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), who posted a 

school record throw in the 35-pound weight competition. Drake finished 15th in a field loaded with unattached and higher collegiate division competitors, tossing the weight 47-03.75.

On Saturday, team scores were kept in the NCAC relays, and the Tigers finished sixth in the men's competition and fourth in the women's.

The women's sprint medley relay was one of the day's highlights as the foursome of senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), sophomore Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), freshman Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) and freshman Tina Valerius (Cincinnati,Ohio) posted a school-record time of 4:28.21 and captured the team's lone first-place finish.

On the men's side, the lone first-place finish was so impressive that it garnered NCAC Athlete of the Week honors. The tandem of sophomore Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) and sophomore Derek Thompson(South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) captured first place in the 55-meter hurdles relay. Ivery, the 2001 NCAC indoor 55-meter hurdles champion, posted a personal best time of 7.84, while Thompson had a personal best time of 8.25. Ivery's time was the fastest at the meet and the only one below 8.0 seconds.