At the midway point of the 2002 season, the results have been nothing short of outstanding for the Wittenberg men's and women's track & field teams as they wrapped up the indoor portion of the schedule at the NCAC Championships. Competing at Denison last Friday and Saturday, the Tiger men finished second and the Tiger women wound up fourth.

On the men's side, sophomore Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) claimed the team's lone individual title, defending his first-place finish in the 55-meter hurdles by running a personal-best 7.80. That time is a provisional NCAA Division III championship meet qualifier. Ivery also added a persona best and fifth-place finish in the 55-meter dash.

Perhaps the best all-around performance was turned in by freshman Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian), who finished fifth in the triple jump with a personal best mark, fifth in the long jump, second in the 55 with a personal best mark and second in the 200 in a personal best and school record time of 23.15. Rounding out his outstanding meet, Rumschlag was one-quarter of the second-place 1600-meter relay team. He was joined by sophomore Alex Yurovitsky (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Richmond Heights), sophomore Derek Thompson (South Charleston, Ohio/Greenon) and sophomore Mike Torsell (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central). Torsell also had a sixth in the 400 and Yurovitsky  an eighth, both with personal best times, and Thompson had a personal best in the 55 hurdles.

Another outstanding all-around performance was turned in by senior Brian Gehle (Huntsville, Ohio/Indian Lake), who finished second in the pole vault and fourth in the high jump just weeks after returning from a broken foot suffered in preseason basketball. Sophomore Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) didn't place but did turn in encouraging personal bests in the high jump and long jump.

Rounding out the men's performances of note: sophomore Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) finished second in shot put with a personal best throw of 47-0.75; freshman Tim Nguyen (Groveport, Ohio/Madison) finished fifth in the shot put; freshman Clyde Mayer (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) placed sixth in the shot put; sophomore Bill Dunlap (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) had a season best in the high jump; senior Dave Hyde (Naperville, Ill./Central) turned in a personal best in the 5,000; junior Nate Henderson (Dayton, Ohio/Carroll) had a season best in the 400; and the 800 relay foursome of senior Mark Trempe (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon), Thompson, Yurovitsky and sophomore Matt Frost (South Vienna, Ohio/Northeastern) had its best time of the season.

On the women's side, the meet started off extremely well as five straight performances were personal bests. Junior Erin Zayicek (Solon, Ohio/Solon) had a two-foot improvement in the shot put; sophomore Kristen Mumper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Purcell Marian) bettered her school record in the triple jump en route to a third-place finish; and then all three runners in the women's 5,000, sophomore Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Williamsport), senior Melanie Ziarko (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) and Natasha Malackany (Canton, Ohio/Perry), had strong runs in finishing eighth, ninth and 18th.

Sophomore Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) and Mumper had the finest all-around performances for the Tigers. Zilli captured a first-place finish in the 800 with a personal best time of 2:21.89, and she also turned in a fourth in the 1500 and a seventh in the pole vault. Senior Sarah Weide (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) finished fifth in the 1500 and the 800, posting season best times in both events.
Also in the pole vault, junior LaRissa O'Neal (Indianapolis, Ind./Broad Ripple) was fourth with a season-best mark of 8-11.75, Jackie Spray (Newark, Ohio/Newark) was fifth. In the long jump, Mumper finished second with a mark of 16-7.25 and newcomer Ayisha Kinamore (Cincinnati, Ohio/Colerain) wound up seventh in her first collegiate meet.

Kinamore also scored points for the Tigers in the 55 hurdles with a fifth place finish, an event in which she and freshman Travette Harper (Cincinnati, Ohio/Wyoming) both had personal bests. Also posting strong finishes for the Tigers were Marissa Davoll (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) with a fourth place finish and personal best time in the 400; Mumper with a personal best time and sixth-place finish in the 55, an event in which Kinamore and freshman Tina Valerius (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mt. Notre Dame) also had personal bests; Mumper, Davoll and Valerius all with personal best times in the 200; and Ziarko and Jenny Brill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) with both personal bests in the 3,000.

To top things off, all three women's relays scored points, and the 1600 quartet of Davoll, Zilli, Weide and sophomore Mary Blonder (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) came within .31 of a school record. In addition, the 800 relay foursome of Mumper, Valerius, Davoll and freshman Ashley Allen (Groveport, Ohio/Madison) finished fourth and the distance medley relay of Ziarko, Valerius, Blonder and Barnes wound up fifth.

Next:
Indoor Season Complete
Outdoor at Wilmington (N.C.)
    Spring Break Meet, 3/16-17