Springfield, Ohio – Senior Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) and juniors Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut) and Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) will represent Wittenberg University in the 2015 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 21-23 at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.
This will be the first national meet appearance for Fisher, while Yates earned a berth in the outdoor meet for a second straight year, and Medlock followed up on her appearance at the 2015 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships. Fisher will compete in the triple jump after earning a spot in the NCAA meet with a mark of 14.53 meters to rank 17th nationally. Yates will compete in the 400-meter dash after qualifying for the meet with a time of 48.01 to rank 19th. Medlock enters the competition ranked 21st in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.91.
“I am so happy for each of these outstanding student-athletes,” said Head Coach Craig Penney. “Qualifying for the NCAA Division III Championship meet is a tremendous achievement, and I am eager to see Justin, Brea and Justin compete at the national level.
“We have had six national qualifiers in the 2015 season between the indoor and outdoor seasons, all the result of hard work, sacrifice, teamwork and commitment. We’re really excited.”
Fisher qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships at Ohio Wesleyan’s Ron Althoff Invitational on May 12. Yates, the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) champion in the 400-meter dash, posted his qualifying time at the All-Ohio Championships on April 11. Medlock, the 2015 NCAC Indoor and Outdoor Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year, posted her qualifying time at the conference championship meet on May 2.
Medlock will compete in the 200-meter preliminary race at 4:50 p.m. Thursday, May 21. If she qualifies for the finals, she would race at 3:45 p.m. Saturday, May 23. Yates will compete in the 400-meter preliminary race at 6 p.m. Friday, May 22. If he qualifies for the finals, he would race at 2:25 p.m. Saturday. Fisher will compete in the triple jump at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Live video and live results will be available on the meet home page: http://www.saintsathletics.com/sports/2015/4/9/MTRACK_0409155954.aspx?id=206.
Fisher, Yates and Medlock are bidding to join a select group of 12 Wittenberg men’s track and field student-athletes who have earned 20 total All-America honors in an NCAA championship meet (indoor and outdoor). The most recent All-America performances came in 2015 NCAA Division III Indoor Championships as junior Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) and senior Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) placed seventh in the long jump and sixth in the 60-meter dash, respectively.
Wittenberg has two men’s national champions in track and field in its history. Bob Cherry finished first in the 120-meter high hurdles in 1963 and Skip Ivery matched the feat in 2003 in the 110-meter high hurdles. Both were achieved in an outdoor NCAA championship meet.
Written By: Ryan Maurer