Tiger Men And Women Finish Fourth And Seventh Respectively At NCAC Indoor Championships

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Michelle Kyle

The Wittenberg men's and women's indoor track and field teams finished fourth and seventh respectively in the March 4-5 North Coast Athletic Conference indoor championship meet.

For the men, the highlights were primarily provided by senior Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian), who was named Indoor Field Events Athlete of the Year for the second time, fitting nicely alongside hardware claimed as the Outdoor Field Events Athlete of the Year in 2003.

Rumschlag took All-NCAC honors with second-place finishes in the 200 meters and the triple jump and a first-place in the long jump for the third straight year, which brings his remarkable record to five conference titles in the long jump (three indoor and two outdoor). In addition, Rumschlag was a member of the second-place 800-meter relay and the third-place 1600-meter relay.

Now with a remarkable 23 All-NCAC honors between indoor and outdoor championships, Rumschlag was the only member of the Tiger men's team to earn an individual all-conference designation in the indoor meet. He was joined on the relay events by junior Gregg Carter (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville), freshman Sean Gouch (Columbus, Ohio/Mifflin) and senior Lamarr Lewis (Trotwood, Ohio/Madison) in the 800-meter relay and freshman Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North), Gouch and Lewis in the 1600-meter relay.

On the women's side, freshman Nicole Bailey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) was simply outstanding in her first conference championship event, taking first place in two events and second in another. She wound up just barely on the outside looking in at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, ranking in the top 20 nationally in the 55-meter dash with a provisional qualifying time of 7.31, which is also a school record. She was not among the competitors selected for the meet, however.

Bailey earned a trio of all-conference honors as she finished second in the triple jump, first in the long jump and first in the 55 meters. In addition, freshman Michelle Kyle (Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) reached All-NCAC status with a third-place finish in the high jump.

Now it's on to the outdoor portion of the 2005 season, starting with a meet this weekend at the University of Cincinnati.

Next: 3/19 @ U. of Cincinnati