Sophomore Victor Banjo anchored the men's track & field team at the NCAC Championships, including an individual NCAC championship in the 60-meter dash on Saturday. Photos by: Drew Casey and Kim Johnson/Wabash College

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. — The Wittenberg men's and women's teams each finished sixth at the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday and Saturday while racking up 11 all-conference performances, two individual championships and six school records.

Sophomore Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) and freshman Shelby Kaho (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) headlined the Tigers' weekend with individual championships, Banjo in the 60-meter dash and Kaho in the 60-meter hurdles.

The Tiger men finished sixth among nine competing teams, led by Banjo's title in the 60-meter dash on a time of 6.93 seconds. He added a third-place finish and a school record in the 200-meter dash, crossing the line in 22.61 seconds.

Banjo earned a third All-NCAC designation, awarded to the top three finishers in each event, as part of the third-place 4x200 relay. He teamed up with freshman Charles Watson (Star, Idaho/Eagle), freshman Justin Yates (Dayton, Ohio/Bellbrook) and sophomore Chris Frierson (Cedar Hill, Texas/Desoto) to turn in a time of 1:31.97.

Frierson also posted three All-NCAC finishes, all part of relays, including the 4x200, 4x400 and distance medley events. He and senior Ryan Hagen (Grand Island, NY/Grand Island) each helped the 4x400 relay and distance medley relays set school records on times of 3:26.69 and 10:22.46, respectively.

The second-place distance medley relay team was rounded out by seniors Kyler Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Jarrett Cowgill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), joining the first-place Wabash team in beating the old NCAC record of 10:25.31 set by Allegheny in 2009.

Hagen and Frierson ran with Yates and Watson in the 4x400 relay, which took third.

In field events, sophomore Logan Jackson (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) earned the men's fourth school record and sixth All-NCAC award with a second-place weight throw of 48-6.

Shelby Kaho

The women took home two school records and five All-NCAC plaques in all, led Kaho's title and school record in the 60-meter hurdles on a time of 9.22 seconds. She added a second-place finish in the 60-meter dash on a time of 8.06 seconds to lead the women with two All-NCAC awards.

Senior Darcy Dubuc (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) set a school record in the 800-meter run and captured third place with a mark of 2:17.47.

On Friday, the junior pole vaulting duo of Kaileigh Bible (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) and Paige Lloyd (Medina, Ohio/Cloverleaf) took second and third place, respectively, with matching heights of 10-4. Their final positions were determined by tiebreaker criteria as prescribed by the conference.

The Tigers will await qualification lists for the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships to be held at Grinnell College in Iowa from Friday, March 9, to Sunday, March 11.

Banjo currently ranks sixth nationally among Division III runners in the 60-meter dash, thanks to a time of 6.87 seconds at the Ohio State Tune-Up on Friday, Feb. 17.

Written by: John Strawn '07