DELAWARE, Ohio – The Wittenberg Tigers enjoyed one of their finest days so far in the 2013 season at Ohio Wesleyan’s Marv Frye Invitational.
Wittenberg’s men’s team fared particularly well, claiming fifth place in the 14-team field with 57 points, behind only Ohio Wesleyan with 116, Baldwin-Wallace with 78, Case Western with 76 and Otterbein with 71. On the women’s side, the Tigers placed 10th with 36 points as the host Battling Bishops also took the top spot.
Three finishes stood out on a day when numerous personal bests were established. Junior Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) started things with a solid time of 10.84 to win the 100-meter dash. His time ranks 14th nationally and first in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) currently.
Sophomore Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) also took the top spot, with his victory coming in the 400-meter dash. His time of 48.74 currently ranks eighth in NCAA Division III and first in the conference.
Rounding things out was the men’s 4x400-meter relay, which placed second in a school-record time of 3:18.61. The quartet of junior Chris Frierson (Cedar Hill, Texas/DeSoto), freshman Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington Court House), freshman Asanka Ekanayake (Clarksburg, Mo./Clarksburg) and Yates now has the ninth-fastest time in the country, although it ranks just third in the NCAC.
Also of note was the performance of the freshman duo of Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) and Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) in the long jump. Melsop placed second and Fisher took fifth in the final standings.
For Wittenberg’s women, the best finishes were turned in by junior Angela Roll (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) in second place in the high jump and the members of the 4x100-meter relay, who also took second. The quartet of senior Shawna Johnson (Uhrichsville, Ohio/Claymont), freshman Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut), junior Cara Vendeville (Perry, Ohio/Perry) and junior Vanessa Ladd (Columbus, Ohio/Marion Franklin) crossed the finish line in 51.06.
Also of note for the Tiger women were a third-place finish by Medlock in the 400-meter dash and a third-place finish by freshman Becah Delp (York, Pa./Eastern York) in the high jump.