SPRINGFIELD, OH-The Wittenberg Track and Field teams hosted the Steemer Showcase and celebrated Senior Recognition Day before the start of the meet as well. It just so happened that it was the same day they received their North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) championship rings from last season as well. Both teams finished in second place, with the men scoring 47 points and the women scoring 41.5 points, both of which were only one spot behind NCAA Division II scholarship program Tiffin. The men's field included 17 teams and the women's field included 19 teams.
The team celebrated a total of 18 seniors, five of which were from the men's team and the other 13 who are members of the women's team. The men who recognized were Adam Arndt (Connersville, IN / Connersville), Cameron Elliott (Springfield, OH / Springfield), Conor Kolka (Dexter, MI / Dexter), Justin Norris (Middletown, OH / Middletown Christian) and Bryce Ray (Sun City, FL / Sumner). On the women's side, the seniors recognized were Kyngston Collins (Dayton, OH / Belmont), Meghan Frazier (Alliance, OH / Alliance), Megan Keys (Dublin, OH / Jerome), Lindsey Magoteaux (Sidney, OH / Lehman Catholic), Reese Neumeyer (Whitehouse, OH / Anthony Wayne), Victoria Pipinich (Fort Worth, TX / All Saints Episcopal), Zora Shakhan (Pickerington, OH / Pickerington Central), Lainee Valentine (Marion, OH / River Valley), Taylor Weiss (Powell, OH / Olentangy Liberty), Julissa Williams (Lorain, OH / Lorain), Haleigh Willison (Crooksville, OH / Crooksville), Macy DeHart (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge) and Ziciah Gibson (Cambridge, OH /Cambridge).
On the track, the Tiger men set two new school records on the day. The first was set by Kolka in the 5000 meters, where he finished second in 14:36.96. The other record set was by Jack Kittle (Chagrin Falls, OH / Chagrin Falls) in the 200 meters, as he finished third with a time of 22.02.
There were six more events in which the Tigers had a top five finisher in the men's events. The 4x200 meter relay team of Dashawn Seye (Centerville, OH / Centerville), Neal Godfrey (St. Francis DeSales), Mataio Robinson (Dayton, OH / Meadowdale) and Demeitrus Barnes Jr (Atlanta, GA / North Atlanta) finished second with a time of 1:33.54. Riley Payne (Hamilton, OH / Trenton Edgewood) took second place in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing in just 8.4 seconds. Kittle and Elliott swept first and second in the 400 meters, finishing in 49.08 and 49.75, respectively. Then, the 4x400 meter team of Seye, Zayden Taylor (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge), Mason Duncan (Cardington, OH / Highland) and Payne, took first as well in just 3:27.59. To round off the men's performances, Norris finished first in the high jump with a height of 1.93 meters.
The Tiger women came away with 11 top-five finishes on the day. Keys took fifth in the 5000 meters with a time of 18:20.62. In the 60-meter hurdles, Izzy Henderson (East Liberty, OH / Benjamin Logan) and Neumeyer took second and fourth in the 60 meter hurdles, with times of 9.41 and 9.43. Frazier took third in the 60 meters, finishing in 7.8 seconds. The 4x400 meter relay team of Pipinich, Abbey Danne (Johnstown, OH / Big Walnut), Jenna Delp (Canton, OH / GlenOak) and Hallie Haines (Hillsboro, OH / Fairfield) finished third with a time of 4:13.62. Henderson and Valentine then took second and fifth in the long jump with marks of 5.4 and 5.02 meters. Williams and Weiss took fourth and fifth in the triple jump with marks of 10.65 and 10.52 meters. To close out the women's top-five finishes, Williams and Weiss again led the way at third and fifth with jumps of 1.6 and 1.55 meters.
Next up, the Tigers will compete in the Gem City Invitational, hosted by by the University of Dayton at Wittenberg, on Saturday, February 8, with a start time of 2:00 PM.