Westerville, Ohio—The Tigers opened up their 2016 season at Otterbein University this Saturday. The women’s track and field team took home a third place overall finish, while the men’s team finished 5^th. Wittenberg impressed across the board, as both teams returned to Springfield with top finishes. Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio / Big Walnut), and Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) took home individual first-place finishes for Wittenberg, while the women’s 4x400 meter relay team of Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights), Sara Richards (Columbus, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln), Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), and Medlock also took home a 1^st place finish.

WOMEN’S TOP 7’S

• Medlock took home a 1^st place finish in the 500 meter dash.
• Longshore, Richards, Bowsher, and Medlock led the pack, finishing 1^st in the 4X400 meter relay
• Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nevada/Palo Verde) finished 2^nd in the 60 meter hurdles and 2^nd in the long jump.
• Along with her 4X400 relay finish, Longshore also took home 2^nd in the 500 meter dash.
• Becah Delp (York, Pennsylvania/Eastern York) had an impressive day, finishing 3^rd in the high jump, 5^th in the 60 meter hurdles, and 7^th in the long jump.
• Sara Richards (Columbus, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln) registered a 4^th place finish in the 60 meter dash.
• Rounding out the top finishes for the Tigers on the women’s side, Tiarra Avant (Delaware, Ohio/Hayes) took home 6^th in the 200 meter dash.

MEN’S TOP 7’S

• Melsop finished 1^st in the long jump and added a 3^rd place finish in the triple jump to conclude his impressive day.
• Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) finished 2^nd in the 500 meter dash and 3^rd in the 60 meter hurdles.
• Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Indiana/Carroll) took 2^nd in the triple jump and 4^th in the long jump for Tigers.
• Cody Shutt (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) finished 3^rd in the 500 meter dash, and also helped lead the 4X400 meter relay team of Ryan Hale (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville), Charles Samuel (Lihue, Hawaii/Kauai) and Wallace to a third place finish.
• Hale claimed another top finish in the 500 meter dash for Wittenberg, coming in 4^th.
• Rounding out the day for the Tigers were Alex Owens (Enon, Ohio / Greenon) who finished 5^th in the pole vault, Samuel who finished 6^th in the 1000 meter run, and Dan Mason (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon) who took 6^th in the weight throw.

FROM THE SIDELINES

• “This meet was a great way to start our season following the Christmas break. You can tell our kids worked hard over the break to maintain their fitness levels. It was a total team effort today and I loved the attitudes and energy. We are really looking forward to building off of this meet,” said Head Coach Hilliard.

UP NEXT

•  Both the men's and women's team return to action January 23 at the Denison Lid-Lifter.

Written By: Kuris Duggan