COLUMBUS/GAMBIER, Ohio – Wherever a college track and field enthusiast in Central Ohio looked over the weekend of Feb. 15-17, the Wittenberg Tigers were there.
Wittenberg student-athletes competed at Ohio State's Buckeye Tune-Up on Friday, and others were back at it the next day at the Kenyon Classic and Capital University's Rick Meindl Last Chance meet.
The best Wittenberg finish at the Buckeye Tune-Up came from the men’s 4x400-meter relay, as the team of freshman Asanka Ekanayake (Clarksburg, Mo./Clarksburg), sophomore Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook), junior Chris Frierson (Cedar Hill, Texas/DeSoto) and freshman Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington Court House) placed seven in a time of 3:24.68.
At Capital, the lone Tigers entered were throwers. The top finish was turned in by senior Sven Isaacson (Dalton, Ohio/Dalton), who placed 10th in the men’s weight throw.
The largest contingent of Wittenberg student-athletes participated in the Kenyon Classic, highlighted by several strong performances.
On the women’s side, junior Cara Vendeville (Perry, Ohio/Perry) earned second place in the 60-meter dash, second in the triple jump and first in the long jump, while freshman Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) was a winner in the 60-meter hurdles. Also of note, Crow was joined by senior Paige Lloyd (Medina, Ohio/Cloverleaf), freshman Megan Bittinger (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Christian) and freshman Becah Delp (York, Pa./Eastern York) in the 4x400-meter relay that placed fifth, junior Angela Roll (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) finished fourth in the high jump, and Delp added second place in the long jump.
For the men, freshman Daniel Emery (Blacklick, Ohio/New Albany) was solid in the 60-meter dash, placing fourth, while senior Raphael Allen (Springfield, Ohio/Yellow Springs) took eighth. In the mile run, sophomore Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) finished third, followed closely by junior Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford County) in fourth, and in the 5000-meter run, it was senior Trevor Grandy (Dublin, Ohio/Coffman) with an outstanding second-place finish.
Rounding things out, freshman Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) had an outstanding day, taking the top spot in the triple jump and second place in the long jump. Freshman Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) added fourth place in the long jump.