WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Wittenberg men's and women's indoor track and field teams took to the lanes for the first time since the turn of the calendar today at the Otterbein Invitational, and it was a productive trip for both sides.
The women came away with a sixth-place finish among 11 teams in the event, including multiple scholarship programs representing NCAA Division II, and the men finished eighth among a similar field of 12 teams.
The highlight of the day came with the first-place effort of senior Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) in the 60-meter dash. Banjo posted a time of 6.88 seconds to win the event for the Tigers and move into second-place on the national NCAA Division III leaderboard in the event. He was just two-hundredths of a second off his career-best time in the event and the national leader, Melique Garcia of Cortland St.
Sophomore Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) sped his way to second-place in the 500-meter dash on a personal collegiate-best time of 1:08.51. Sophomore Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) contributed a second-place finish in the long jump with an indoor personal best jump of 6.77 meters.
Sophomore Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) finished fifth in the long jump behind Melsop, who himself contributed a fifth-place finish in the triple jump.
For the women, sophomore Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut), freshman Francesca Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), freshman Aliyah Myers (McCordsville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) and freshman Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) led the women to a win in the 4x200-meter relay. The group posted a time of 1:49.17, clearing the nearest opponent by 1.4 seconds.
Medlock, Myers and Longshore also teamed up with junior Jeanette Klamfoth (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) for a second-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay, turning in a time of 4:10.97.
Junior Shelby Kaho (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles on a time of 9.35.
The Tigers are back in action next Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Denison Lid-Lifter in Granville, Ohio.
John Strawn '07