Kelly Zilli
It was another strong week for the Wittenberg track and field teams at the DePauw/SCAC Invitational. The Tigers finished second in the men's competition and fourth in the women's.
On the men's side, there was another outstanding performance from senior Chris Silliman (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington), who earned NCAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors for his school record mark of 48-10 in the 35# weight throw. That throw is the best in the conference heading into next weekend's NCAC Indoor Track and Field Championship meet at Denison.
Silliman was hardly alone in putting up big numbers at DePauw. Junior Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee), freshman Tim Nguyen (Groveport, Ohio/Madison) and freshman Clyde Mayer (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) all had personal bests in finishing second, fifth and seventh respectively in the shot
put. That strong finish was perhaps only topped by the 1-2-3 Tiger sweep recorded in the 55-meter hurdles by sophomore Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison), freshman Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) and sophomore Derek Thompson (South Charleston, Ohio/Greenon). Ivery's time of 7.90, which he missed by .01 at DePauw, is the best in the conference in 2002.
Also on the men's side, sophomore Dorian Dixon (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy) and freshman Mike Rill (Columbus, Ohio/Grandview) turned in personal bests in the 35# weight throw, freshman T.J. Falzone (Rivrton, Conn.), Ivery and sophomore Alex Yurovitsky (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Richmond Heights) had personal bests in the 55 meters, with Falzone and Yurovitsky adding top times in the long jump and triple jump respectively. Sophomore Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) chipped in with a second place finish in the high jump with a personal best of 5-8, freshman Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian) finished fourth in his first-ever 400 meter race, and junior Scott Huntoon (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor) had a season best in the 5,000.
Finally, two relays turned in strong times, the 800 foursome of Rumschlag, Toman, sophomore Matt Frost (South Vienna, Ohio/Northeastern) and Demetrius Ellison (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) and the 1600 quartet Thompson, Yurovitsky, sophomore Mike Torsell (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central) and Ellison, which has the top time in the NCAC.
On the women's side, sophomore Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) was named NCAC Women's Track Athlete of the Week for her meet record time of 61.23 in the 400. Another meet record was turned in by junior LaRissa O'Neal (Indianapolis, Ind./Broad Ripple) in the pole vault. Personal bests among the women included sophomore Jenny Brill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and junior Natasha Malackany (Canton, Ohio/Perry) in the 5,000 and sophomore Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) in the pole vault and long jump. Mumper's mark of 16-9.5 in the long jump was also a meet record.
Finally, two relays turned in strong times. The 800 relay foursome of freshman Ashley Allen (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison), freshman Tina Valerius (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame), O'Neal and freshman Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) and the distance medley relay quartet of senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead), sophomore Mary Blonder (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest), Davoll and Zilli.
3/1-2 @ NCAC Indoor Championships
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