SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – At home on the friendly lanes of Earl F. Morris Track, the Wittenberg track and field teams had an outing to remember in the first-ever "Coach Rob" Invitational.
Named for longtime coach Dennis Robinson, who passed away in December 2014 after a six-year battle with the blood disease Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS), the meet began with a tribute to Coach Rob that included his wife Delores, daughter Denise and son Aaron.
After the ceremony, Wittenberg's performance in the meet became an equally fitting tribute as the Tiger men captured the title and the women finished second, each among 10 teams.
Behind the Tiger men, who scored 126.5 points, Otterbein was second with 123.5 and Adrian finished off the top three with 121 points. Wilmington (Ohio) finished fourth, followed by Rio Grande, Thomas More, Capital, Central State, Mount Vernon Nazarene and Ohio Christian.
Otterbein grabbed the women's team championship with 160 points, ahead of Wittenberg in second with 110 points and Adrian in third with 98. Thomas More finished fourth, followed by Capital, Wilmington (OH), Rio Grande, Central State, Mount Vernon Nazarene and Ohio Christian.
For the women, sophomore Odunayo Shobo (Columbus, Ohio/Westland) finished fourth in the 100-meter dash and freshman Sara Richards (Columbus, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) was fourth in the 200-meter dash. Sophomore Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) finished second in the 400-meter dash on a time of 1:00.80 and sophomore Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) was not far behind in fourth.
Junior Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) nabbed third place in the 100-meter hurdles, and led a sweep of the medals in the 400-meter hurdles as she won the event ahead of senior Jeanette Klamfoth (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) in second and freshman Kelsey Fobean (Munroe Falls, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls) in third.
The Tigers took second in the 4x100-meter relay thanks to the efforts of Richards, Bowsher, Crow and Longshore, and Klamfoth took Crow's place to help the team place second in the 4x400-meter relay as well. Freshman Jada Moore (Columbus, Ohio/South) was third in the long jump on a leap of 5.03 meters and freshman Elizabeth Walton (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) finished fifth in the discus and sixth in the hammer throw.
For the men, junior Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) was fourth in the 100-meter dash and junior Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) was fifth in the 200-meter dash. Senior Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) won the 400-meter dash on a time of 49.15 and senior Austin Butler (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll) grabbed five points in fourth in the 800-meter run.
Senior Adam Kapuscinski (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) finished fifth in the 1500-meter run, and junior Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) was second in the 400-meter hurdles at 55.33. Sophomore Cody Shutt (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) led off the third-place 4x400-meter relay, balanced out by Yates, Kapuscinski and Wallace.
The field events were a particular strength of the Tigers in their home meet. In the high jump, freshman Tyler Everidge (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) jumped to first at 1.88 meters and Melsop further strengthened the Tigers' field events with first place in the long jump at 7.13 meters, followed by Fisher in fourth. Fisher went on to win the triple jump himself on a distance of 13.71 meters, followed directly by Melsop in second. Junior Daniel Mason (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon) tossed the hammer 43.58 meters to finish second and Everidge was third at 42.91 meters in the javelin.
The Tigers continue the outdoor season at the All-Ohio Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, April 11.
John Strawn '07