Tigers Only Halfway Through Season And Posting Record Finishes

At the halfway point, the 2003 men's and women's track and field campaign has all the makings of one of the best in school history.

March 24, 2003

Kristen Mumper

At the halfway point, the 2003 men's and women's track and field campaign has all the makings of one of the best in school history.

The indoor season concluded March 15 with a bang. Junior Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) finished second in the 55-meter high hurdles at the NCAA Division III Men's Indoor Track and Field Championship meet at DePauw. Ivery broke his own school record with a blistering time of 7.51 in the finals of the national meet. He was one of three competitors within .01 seconds of one another in a fantastic photo finish.

Also an all-conference wide receiver on the Wittenberg football team, Ivery matched the best finish for an individual athlete in NCAA competition in school history in his first appearance at a national track and field championship event. The top eight competitors in each event are designated as All-America. As a team, Wittenberg wound up tied for 23rd in the nation thanks to Ivery's eight points.

Ivery then picked up where he left off last weekend at the Muskingum Invitational, where he posted a first-place finish in the 110-meter high hurdles.

Skip Ivery

Sophomore Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian) and junior Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) picked up blue ribbons during the meet as well. Rumschlag took a first in the long jump and also finished in the top eight in the 100 meters, 200 meters and triple jump events as well. Gaal, the team's lone national outdoor qualifier in 2002, threw the javelin in competition for the first time in 2003 and took top honors with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 192-8.

Other top finishes were turned in by senior Nate Henderson (Kettering, Ohio/Dayton Carroll), third in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles with a personal-best time, sophomore Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) captured second place in the 400 hurdles with a personal-best time, and sophomore Clyde Mayer (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) finished third in the discus with a personal-best throw, followed closely by teammate Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), a junior who finished fourth.

Toman was named NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler Athlete of the Week, while Mayer earned NCAC Field Events Athlete of the Week for their outstanding performances.

On the women's side, the effort was again led by junior Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian), who captured first place in the 400 meters, long jump and triple jump and ran a leg of the fifth-place 4x100-meter relay. For her efforts, she earned NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler Athlete of the Week as well.

Other top finishers included junior Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter), who finished second in the 800 meters and ran a leg of the 4x400-meter relay that finished third, junior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall), who had personal-bests in the 1500 and 5000 meter races, senior Abi Gerstle (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont), who claimed runner-up honors in the 3000-meter steeplechase, and junior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood), who had top-eight finishes in the shot put and javelin in her first meet since suffering a knee injury during soccer season last fall.

No team scores were tabulated at the Muskingum Invitational.

Next: 3/29 @ Rhodes (Outdoor Track Season)