Tigers Finish Off Last Indoor Weekend Before NCAC Championship Meet

Junior Aaron Long represented the Tigers at the NCAC Combined Events meet, the opening portion of the conference championships. File Photo/Erin Pence

GRANVILLE/DELAWARE, Ohio — The Wittenberg track & field teams pushed through the final weekend of regular indoor competition before heading to the North Coast Athletic Conference championships next Friday and Saturday.

Catherine Kuerbitz

The Tigers started at the Denison University Last Chance Invitational on Friday, where several individual performances stood out. Freshman Leslie Goshia (Bryan, Ohio/Bryan), senior Samantha Iden (Pickerington, Ohio/North), senior Catherine Kuerbitz (Cleveland, Ohio/Regina) and freshman Shelby Kaho (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) all combined to place second in the 4x200 relay prior to a quartet of outstanding field performances.

Senior Lizzy Hauser (Ottawa Lake, Mich./Whiteford) and sophomore Angela Roll (Dublin, Ohio/Scioto) delivered a one-two finish in the long jump on distances of 1.47 meters and 1.42 meters, respectively. Then junior Paige Lloyd (Medina, Ohio/Cloverleaf) and junior Kaileigh Bible (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) each achieved a pole vault of 3.20m (10-6) to tie the school record set just last week by Lloyd at Wooster and finish second and third in the event.

On the men's side, freshman Charles Watson (Star, Idaho/Eagle) finished third in the 400-meter dash on a time of 53.65 and senior Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) matched him in the 800-meter run on a time of 1:59.09.

Watson's individual finish was the prelude to a win in the 4x200-meter relay, where he teamed with sophomore Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin), freshman Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) and sophomore Chris Frierson (Cedar Hill, Texas/DeSoto) to take first on a time of 1:34.26.

The Tigers were also represented at the North Coast Athletic Conference Combined Events, which serves as the first event of the NCAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, which commence in full Friday, March 2 and conclude Saturday, March 3.

Junior Aaron Long (Worthington, Ohio/Kilbourne) donned the Red & White at Ohio Wesleyan for the combined events, and while he finished 17 out of 18 competitors, his effort was absolute. Long won the 1000-meter run portion and placed 10th in the high jump to highlight the event.

Wittenberg did not send a women's runner to the combined events.

Written by: John Strawn '07