Men's Track and Field Wins NCAC Indoor Championships
Oberlin, OH - After the completion of all 18 events of the 2025 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Indoor Track and Field Championships, through three separate days of competition, Wittenberg Men's Track & Field came away with first place for a second consecutive year, scoring 139.5 points. The Tigers scored 19.5 points more than second-place Wabash, the pre-meet favorite, as the Little Giants finished with 120 points, followed by Denison in third place with 99 total points.
The championships started one week earlier when Nicolas Farfoglia (Manchester, MD / Manchester Valley) competed in the heptathlon. He finished seventh with a score of 3,784 to secure two points for the men's team.
The competitions resumed on Friday, February 28, where the men continued to pile up strong finishes to stay in contention for the title. In the long jump, Bryce Ray (Sun City, FL / Sumner) took second with 6.99 meters, netting the team eight points, while Neal Godfrey (Columbus, OH / St. Francis DeSales) finished sixth with a jump of 6.67 meters to add another three points. In pole vault, Gage Dyke (Frankfort, OH / Zane Trace) finished third at 4.20 meters to earn Wittenberg six points and Farfoglia's 3.95 mark earned him seventh to add another two points. Max Martindale (Mason, OH / Lakota West) finished sixth in the weight throw with 14.75 meters for three points and Max Green (Centerville, OH / Centerville) was right behind in seventh at 14.68 meters to earn another two points. Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI / Dexter) took second in the 5000-meter run to earn eight points with a time of 14:37.40, while Lukas Rieben (Clayton, OH / Northmont) finished in 15:20.54, which was good for sixth place and three points. The Tiger distance medley relay team of Kamren Graham (Shaker Heights, OH / Shaker Heights), Owen Bier (Elyria, OH / Midview), Mason Duncan (Cardington, OH / Highland) and Adam Arndt (Connersville, IN / Connersville) added another four points for the team, finishing in fifth place with a time of 10:32.83.
On Day 2, the Tigers took advantage of their impressive Day 1 and to bring home the title. Justin Norris (Middletown, OH / Middletown Christian) added another first-place finish in the high jump with a leap of 2.02 meters to add 10 points for the team, and Andrew Owen (Springfield, OH / Springfield) added another three and a half points with a fifth-place finish at a height of 1.90 meters. Martindale had another good finish in the shot put, taking second place with a mark of 15.99 meters to add another eight points. The team of Godfrey, Elijah Simmons (Jacksonville, FL/ Groveport), Mataio Robinson (Dayton, OH / Meadowdale) and Dashawn Seye (Centerville, OH / Centerville) finished fourth in the 4x200-meter relay in a time of 1:32.88 to add five points. In the 60-meter hurdles, Riley Payne (Hamilton, OH / Trenton Edgewood) added another eight points by finishing second in 8.22 seconds, and Kory Davis (Brookville, OH / Brookville) clocked a time of 8.50 seconds for eighth place and one point. Wittenberg swept the first two spots in the 400 meters with Jack Kittle (Chagrin Falls, OH / Chagrin Falls) and Cameron Elliott (Springfield, OH / Springfield), who scored 10 and eight points, respectively, with times of 49.43 and 49.86. In the 60-meter dash, Simmons took second place and eight points with a time of 6.96 and Caiden Allen (Ontario, OH / Plymouth) finished in sixth at 7.05 for three points, while Godfrey was right behind in seventh, finishing in 7.18 for another two points. Brandon Anderson (Dexter, MI / Dexter) added a point in the 800 meters by finishing eighth with a time of 2:00.56. Wittenberg had three scorers in the 200-meter dash with Kittle finishing in second place to earn eight points by finishing in 22.33 while Simmons and Elliott finished fifth and sixth in 22.67 and 23.23 for four and three points. Kolka had a good showing in the 3000 meter run as well, finishing in 8:31.15, good for third place and six points. The Wittenberg 4x400-meter team of Seye, Elliott, Bier and Kittle took fisrt to add another ten points with a time of 3:24.81.
At the conclusion of the meet, Jack Kittle was honored with NCAC Men's Sprint/Hurdles Athlete of the Year, as well as NCAC Men's Newcomer of the Year, and Wittenberg's Coaching Staff earned NCAC Men's Coaching Staff of the Year as well.