WOOSTER, Ohio - The Wittenberg men's and women's indoor track and field teams got contributions throughout the lineup en route to a pair of impressive showings at the Fighting Scots Invitational at the College of Wooster.
Competing in a five-team field comprised entirely of North Coast Athletic Conference rivals, Wittenberg's men took the top spot and the women finished a close second. The Tigers were 19 points ahead of host Wooster on the men's side, piling up 125 points. The women's competition was extremely tight, with Allegheny nudging out the Tigers by a slim margin of 105-103.
Among many highlights in the meet, the outstanding performances by the 4x200-meter relay teams stood out. For the women, the quartet of sophomore Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut), freshman Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), freshman Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) and freshman Aaliyah Myers (McCordsville, Ind./Mount Vernon) finished second by a slim margin to Denison but set a new school record in the process. The men's relay of senior Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin), senior Chris Frierson (Dallas, Texas/DeSoto), sophomore Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) and freshman Eric Hood (River View, Fla./East Bay) placed first by a solid three seconds.
Banjo, one of the top ranked sprinters in the nation so far in the 2013-14 season, added a win in the 60-meter dash in a time of 6.99. Melsop took the top spot in the long jump and placed second in the triple jump.
Also for the Tiger men, sophomore Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) led the way in the 60-meter hurdles. He was joined by Frierson, freshman Eric Rice (Mount Clemens, Mich./Mount Clemens) and freshman Chase Gage (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) on the 4x400-meter relay that took second place.
Rounding things out for the Tiger men, senior Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) finished first in the 1-mile run and freshman Nick Molnar (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) ran a strong second in the 3,000 meters.
For the women, additional highlights included second-place finishes for senior Angela Roll (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) in the high jump and senior Beverly Ochieng (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) in the triple jump. Medlock, Bowsher and Longshore scored big points in the 200 and 400-meter races - Medlock finished third in the 200 and first in the 400, Bowsher placed fourth in both events, and Longshore took third in the 400.
In the distance events, the Tigers' top finisher was senior Shannon Kelleher (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby), who took the blue ribbon in the 3,000 meters.
Rounding things out was a first-place finish for the 4x400-meter relay. Medlock, Bowsher, Longshore and sophomore Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) teamed up to cross the finish line in 4:08.