ADA, Ohio - The Wittenberg men's and women's track and field teams hit the midway point of the 2014 indoor season with a fine performance at the Joe Banks Invitational hosted by Ohio Northern University.
The Tigers placed third in a nine-team field on the women's side, scoring 92 points to trail only the host Polar Bears and Otterbein. Wittenberg's men placed a deceiving seventh out of 10 teams - the Tigers finished just 12 points out of fourth place.
For the second straight week, a youthful relay turned in one of the Tigers' best performances as the freshmen Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), Aliyah Myers (McCordsville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) and Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) teamed up with sophomore Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut) to win the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 4:09.98, nearly four seconds faster than any other team in the field.
Myers placed second in the 60-meter dash, while four Tigers scored points in the 200-meter dash. Medlock placed third, Bowsher took fourth, Longshore placed sixth and sophomore Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) rounded things out in eighth.
Medlock capped her stellar day with a second-place finish in the 400-meter dash. Longshore placed third and Bowsher finished seventh.
Finally, freshman Lorin Conti (Milford, Ohio/Milford) placed second in the 5000-meter run, senior Angela Roll (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) finished in a three-way tie for the top spot in the high jump, senior Beverly Ochieng (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) took second in the triple jump, and Crow and freshman Olivia Stevens (Danville, Ind./Danville Community) placed third and fourth, respectively, in the 60-meter hurdles with a pair of personal-best times.
On the men's side, Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) took care of his business, as usual, with a first-place finish in the 60-meter dash. He was joined in the winner's circle by the men's distance medley relay, consisting of senior Jacob Kuntz (Versailles, Ky./Woodford County), junior Austin Butler (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll), freshman Chase Gage (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) and senior Wade Westbrook (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone).
Also of note, sophomore Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) took second place in the long jump and sophomore Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) placed third in the triple jump.