GAMBIER — Sophomore Grayson Ring (Tipp City/Tippecanoe) and juniors Cameron Elliott (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield) and Conor Kolka (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) each won championships to lead the Wittenberg men's track and field team to the team title following the second and final day of the North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Championships at Kenyon College on Saturday. This marks the Tigers' first indoor conference title since 1997 and third overall. Also on Saturday, the Wittenberg coaching staff of head coach Paris Hilliard and assistants Alexia Page-Boyd, Blaine Brokschmidt, Chris Marco and Josh Lynch were named the NCAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Basics

• Venue: Toan Indoor Track - Gambier, Ohio
• NCAC Championships site
• Host site
• The top three finishers in each event, including relays, earn All-NCAC honors, and the top eight finishers score team points.
• Wittenberg won the team championship with 130 points. Wabash was second with 114 points, and Oberlin was third with 103 points.
• The Tigers entered Saturday in second place with 34 points.

Wittenberg Highlights

• The Tigers added six All-Conference finishes on Saturday to their one from Friday and one from the heptathlon.
• Ring won the championship in the high jump, posting a mark of 1.96 meters. He is now a two-time NCAC indoor champion.
• Elliott won the title in the 400 meters with a time of 49.15 seconds and is now a two-time NCAC champion. He added a fifth-place finish in the 200 with a time of 22.72 seconds.
• Ring and Elliott were both part of the NCAC champion 4x200 relay team in 2023.
• Elliott also earned All-Conference honors with seniors Zeke Bennett (Hilliard, Ohio/Bradley), Ian McCandlish (Lancaster, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) and sophomore Mason Duncan (Cardington, Ohio/Highland) in the 4x400 relay. They placed third in 3:24.00. Bennett also placed fourth in the 400 in 50.40 seconds.
• Kolka won the championship in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:34.03 and is now a five-time All-NCAC honoree. He was All-Conference in the 5,000 meters on Friday.
• Sophomore Max Green (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) was All-Conference in the weight throw, placing second with a mark of 15.48 meters.
• Sophomore Jeremy Watson (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) was All-NCAC in the pole vault, finishing second with a mark of 4.55 meters.
• Also in the pole vault, sophomore Gage Dyke (Frankfort, Ohio/Zane Trace) was fourth with a mark of 4.25 meters, freshman Kane Cissell (LaGrange, Ky./Oldham County) was fifth with a mark of 4.25 meters and senior Sam Callinan (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont) was seventh with a mark of 4.10 meters.
• Seniors JJ Weisenberger (Collins, Ohio/Western Reserve), Matt Drovdlic (Hilliard, Ohio/Bradley) and Matt Rogers (Leander, Texas/Rouse) and freshman Caiden Allen (Ontario, Ohio/Plymouth) placed fourth in the 4x200 relay in 1:31.19.
• In the 60 meters, Allen finished fifth in 6.97 seconds, Weisenberger was sixth in 7.07 seconds and Drovdlic was seventh in 7.14 seconds.
• In the 800, McCandlish was fifth in 1:58.70, and sophomore Zayden Taylor (Springfield, Ohio/Kenton Ridge) was sixth in 1:58.81.
• Freshman Lukas Rieben (Clayton, Ohio/Northmont) was seventh in the 3,000 in 8:53.77.
• Junior Justin Norris (Middletown, Ohio/Middletown Christian) placed eighth in the high jump with a mark of 1.80 meters.

Quote - Head coach Paris Hilliard

• "Both teams were amazing over the last two days. This was the true definition of a team effort. Both teams have worked so hard throughout the year to get to this point. I could not be more proud of them. I also want to acknowledge my staff for all the hard work they have put into this program and the support from our administration."

Up Next

• The Tigers return to action next weekend for a Last Chance meet prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8-9.