Tiger Track & Field Returns To Action

The Wittenberg University men's and women's track and field team returned to action on Saturday afternoon for the first time in nearly a year. The Tigers welcomed DePauw University and Wabash College for a tri-meet amongst NCAC foes. The Wittenberg women picked up right where they left off a year ago, taking the decision 70-56. The men's squad took second place amongst the competition, taking 101 points, close on the heels of the Little Giants 153 point mark. Wittenberg secured 14 first-place finishes across the board, finishing one and two in the top spots in seven events.

The Tigers got things started early with Leah Vogt and Courtney Swihart taking first and second in the Women's Weight Throw. Vogt got her mark at 13.51 meters and Swihart at 12.53 meters. Vogt didn't stop there as she placed first in the Women's Shot Put with a heave of 10.83 meters. McKenna Bruce followed right behind her, finishing in second, with a mark of 9.73 meters. Isreal Anis took fourth place in the Men's Shot Put with a throw of 10.57 meters. In the Women's Long Jump, Wittenberg took all four top spots with Alexis Johnson claiming the top spot with a jump of 5.64 meters. Stevie Plikerd finished in second with a mark of 5.22 meters, Tiffany Moss found herself in third, and rounding out the top four was Kara Owens. Johnson finished out her day with a first-place finish in the Women's 60-meter Dash clocking a time of 8.06 seconds and in the 200-meter dash with a finishing time of 26.88 seconds. Moss and Plikerd also placed second and third in the Women's 60-meter Hurdles with times of 10.49 seconds and 10.97 seconds. Plikerd had another top-three finish in her last event in the 200-meter dash. In the Men's Long Jump, Wittenberg went one-two with Zachary Guyer winning it all with a mark of 6.26 and Vincent Roper's best jump coming in at 6.00 meters. Roper also placed second in the Men's High Jump with a mark of 1.78 meters, while Guyer finished first in the Men's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.71 seconds. The team of Rogers, Bennett, Drovdlic, and Albanese took home first place in the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:32.73. Cullen Sainey and Ryan Zimmerman finished third and fourth in the 3,000-meter run. Jacqueline Hayes and Maxine Wishman finished second and third in the Women's 400-meter Dash. Hayes crossed the line with a time of 1:01.73 and Wishman with a time of 1:04.57. Austyn Albanese took home the crown in the Men's 400-meter Dash with a time of 51.04 seconds. Rogers and Drovdlic take one-two in the Men's 60-meter Dash with similar times of 7.25 and 7.31 seconds. Rogers finished his day with a first-place finish in the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.21. Bennett finished right behind him with a time of 23.42 seconds to secure second place. Alexis Gray finds herself at the top of the Women's 800-meter Run with a time of 2:16.99, just .28 seconds off the facility record that Gray already holds. Dak Smith wins the men's side of the 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.10 followed by Caden Zellner finishes third with a time of 2:06.71. Lauren Welker stormed back down the homestretch finishing first in the Women's one mile with a time of 5:23.77.

Wittenberg will return to action next weekend, Saturday, Feb. 20 when they host the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan University.