Tigers Excel At Own Wittenberg Invitational

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Wittenberg track and field teams hosted the Wittenberg Invitational on Saturday at Earl F. Morris Track and secured a second-place finish for the women and a third-place finish for the men.

Hosting eight women's schools and seven men's, the Tigers' first home event 2012 saw Tiffin University take the top spot in both title chases. On the women's side, Wittenberg pulled in second, ahead of Otterbein in third, Ohio Dominican in fourth and Rio Grande in fifth. Central State finished sixth, ahead of Mount St. Joseph and Ohio Christian.

Behind the Tiffin men, Otterbein finished second and Wittenberg settled in at third. Rio Grande finished in fourth, Ohio Dominican in fifth, Mount St. Joseph in sixth, and Central State rounded things out in seventh.

For Wittenberg's women, sophomore Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut) won the 400-meter dash on a time of 59.64, the only time under one minute in the race. It was a strong event for the Tigers, as freshman Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) and freshman Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln) cruised in at third and fourth place, respectively.

Medlock also went on to win the 200-meter dash on a time of 25.91, tying her school record in the event. Bowsher and Longshore swapped places to finish fifth and sixth, respectively.

Sophomore Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) grabbed a win for Wittenberg with a first-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles on a time of 1:07.59. Junior Jeanette Klamfoth (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) was right behind in second place, crossing in 1:07.97. Junior Shelby Kaho (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) ran to fourth place in the 100-meter hurdles.

The women's 4x400-meter relay team, consisting of Longshore, Bowsher, freshman Aliyah Myers (McCordsville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) and Medlock, captured first place on a time of 4:01.26. The same quartet finished second in the 4x100.

Myers went on to post a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash while freshman Lorin Conti (Milford, Ohio/Milford) placed third in the 5,000-meter run.

In the field events, Wittenberg was well represented. Sophomore Becah Delp (York, Pa./Eastern York) won the high jump with a height of 1.57 meters and senior Beverly Ochieng (Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) finished second in the triple jump at 10.42 meters. Freshman Brittanne Burnside (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) finished fourth in the long jump

The 400-meter dash was a source of strength for the men as well, as junior Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) won the event on a time of 49.14 and senior Chris Frierson (Dallas, Texas/DeSoto) finished fourth. Yates' time was good enough to rank him 13^th in NCAA Division III.

Sophomore Laike Wallace (Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) topped the field in the 400-meter hurdles, rounding the track in 54.70 to also jump into the top NCAA Division III times at 10^th. Wallace also secured a fifth-place finish in the 110-meter version.

Freshman Jon Osman (Troy, Ohio/Troy) crossed the finish line of the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:53.13, good for first place. Freshman Nick Molnar (Mansfield, Ohio/Lexington) was not far off in fourth.

Freshman Cody Shutt (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson), Frierson, Yates and Wallace finished second in the 4x400-meter relay, and sophomore Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll), sophomore Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales), Frierson and freshman Eric Hood (River View, Fla./East Bay) combined for third in the 4x100-meter relay.

Melsop handled the 100-meter dash duties for the Tigers and finished third on a time of 11.22 in the finals, in addition to a second-place finish in the long jump and fourth in the triple jump. Junior Austin Butler (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom Carroll) ran to third place in the 800-meter run.

The Tigers continue the Spring 2014 campaign at the All-Ohio Invitational hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday, April 12.

John Strawn '07