TIFFIN, Ohio – The Wittenberg men's and women's indoor track and field teams kicked off the new season with a trip to Tiffin University's unscored Alumni Open.
The Tigers had a great outing, coming back with numerous accomplishments to brag about.
For the men, junior Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) posted a personal record and broke his own school record in the long jump with a mark of 7.09 meters while earning him third place.
Junior Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) set a personal best in the triple jump with a distance of 13.65 meters and a finish of third. and junior Daniel Mason (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon) also celebrated a personal record in the weight throw with a distance of 14.05 meters and a sixth-place finish.
Senior Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) and junior Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) went 1-2, respectively, in the 400-meter dash on times of 51.82 and 52.09. Wallace also finished third in the 60-meter hurdles, and sophomore Alex Owens (Enon, Ohio/Greenon) went 3.80 meters in the pole vault to finish second.
For the women, junior Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut) broke her personal record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 26.41 seconds and a third-place finish, followed immediately by freshman Sara Richards (Columbus, Ohio/Lincoln) in fourth. Senior Christine Steinhaus (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Olentangy) also set a personal best by running a 2:38.05 in the 800-meter dash.
The 400-meter dash proved especially successful for Wittenberg as Medlock, sophomore Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) and sophomore Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) went 1-2-3, paced by Medlock's 1:00.68. Senior Shelby Kaho (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) turned in a third-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles at 9.18 seconds, currently tied for first in NCAA Division III.
Finally, a trio of Tigers participated in a multi-event competition on Friday night at Tiffin. Sophomore Caitie Traylor (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) placed eighth, junior Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) took sixth, and junior Becah Delp (York, Pa./Eastern York) was the individual champion with 3,052 points.
Having started the season off successfully, the Tigers will have over a month to prepare for their next meet, the Otterbein Invitational, on Saturday, Jan. 17.