SPRINGFIELD, Ohio - Wittenberg University senior Skip Ivery was named NCAA Division III Great Lakes Region Men's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Year at a banquet just prior to the national championship meet on March 11 at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. It was the first such honor of Ivery's illustrious collegiate athletic career.

Ivery, a native of Columbus, Ohio and a graduate of Groveport-Madison High School, earned the honor for his prowess in the 55-meter hurdles, his specialty. He won the event at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet for the fourth straight year on March 6 at Denison. At the NCAA Division III Championships on March 13, Ivery, who had the fastest time in the nation during the regular season and was seeded first after the preliminary races, came in fourth place with a time of 7.60.

It was the second straight year that Ivery qualified for the national championship meet in the event, and the second straight year that he earned All-America honors for indoor track and field. In 2003, Ivery finished second in the 55-meter hurdles.

Ivery now moves to the outdoor season with the hope that he can finish his career with a bang. In 2003, Ivery built upon his strong indoor finish to win the NCAC 110-meter hurdles championship for a second straight season and then capture first place in the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet at St. Lawrence University. He became just the third individual athlete in Wittenberg history to win a national title, following in the footsteps of Bob Cherry in men's track and field in 1964 and Sheila Simon in women's track and field in 1983.

His exploits as a track athlete are just the beginning of Ivery's college story. He is a two-time All-NCAC football player as a wide receiver and he ranks in the top five in school history in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Ivery has a 3.80 grade point average and was the 2003 recipient of Wittenberg's Broadwell Chinn Award (given to the African-American student with the highest GPA). He is a two-time Academic All-District IV selection for football and a 2003 second-team Academic All-America for men's track and field.

011-04