Wittenberg men's and women's track and field return to action on Saturday, Feb. 13 hosting a Wabash College and DePauw University in a tri-meet from The Steemer. The Tigers are coming off of a successful 2020 season, seeing four athletes from the women's squad earned an invitation to the national meet.
The women will be led once again by seniors Alexis Gray, Alexis Johnson, and Stevie Plikerd, all three of which were recognized as USTFCCCA All-Americans and All-Great Lakes Region honorees last season for their performances in the indoor track and field season. Gray and Johnson return as current Wittenberg record holders for their respected events. Gray with the current record for the 500-meter dash with a time of 1:16.18 and Johnson with the current Wittenberg records in the Long Jump (5.81 meters) and the Triple Jump (11.35 meters). Gray and Johnson were also tagged with All-NCAC honors last season. Gray was the NCAC Distance/Middle Distance Athlete of the Year and Johnson was the NCAC Field Athlete of the Year. Gray finished first in the 800-meter at the NCAC Championships and set a new NCAC Indoor Championship meet record. Johnson finished off the season placing first in the long jump at the NCAC Championships. Both athletes qualified for their respected events at the NCAA DIII National Championships. Stevie Plikerd also had an outstanding season last winter qualifying for the NCAC Championships in a number of events with many more top 5 finishes throughout the season. At the NCAC Championships, Plikerd placed fourth in the long jump (5.35 meters), fifth in the triple jump (10.73 meters), third in the 60-meter dash (8.06 seconds), twelfth in the shot put (10.97 meters), and fourth in the pentathlon with a score of 2,867.
The men's track and field team will be highlighted by Paul Varnadoe, Zach Guyer, Deven Ramsey, Ryan Zimmerman, and Zeke Bennett. Varnadoe placed second in the long jump competition (21-5.25 feet) at the NCAC Championships. Bennett and Ramsey were part of the All-NCAC team that placed second in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:52.31. Bennett was also a part of the other relay team that took home All-NCAC honors at the NCAC Championship track and field meet that finished second in the 4x200m relay with a time of 1:32.39. Ramsey added a fourth-place finish in the 800-meter run with a time 1:59.68. Guyer placed second in the Men's Heptathlon at the NCAC Championship meet with a score of 4,363. Zimmerman competed in the Men's Distance Medley and the Men's 3000-meter at the NCAC Championships. He came in eighth in the 3000-meter run with a time of 9:04.52 and sixth in the men's Distance Medley with a time of 10:46.09.
See the full interview with Head Coach Paris Hilliard below.