Tim Gaal
The Tiger men's and women's track and field teams proved once
again this weekend that they can compete extremely well against top
competition. At the Rhodes/U. of Memphis Big Cat Classic,
Wittenberg athletes posted several top finishes in a field loaded
with Division I and NAIA schools, including Vanderbilt, Austin Peay
and Murray State.
No team scores were kept.
Leading the charge were a trio of first-place finishers: sophomore
Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian),
junior Joel Drake (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) and
junior Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek).
Rumschlag, who was named NCAC Field Events Athlete of the Week,
took first place in the long jump with a mark of 22-0.5, a personal
best. Drake, the 2003 NCAC Indoor champion in the shot put, claimed
first in the same event in Memphis with a mark of 47-9. Gaal
claimed first place in the javelin with an NCAA provisional mark of
202-9. He is already approaching his 2002 best throw of 211-0,
which was a school record and an NCAA automatic qualifying mark. He
finished 11th in the nation in the event.
Other top finishers included junior Kelly Zilli (Dayton,
Ohio/Kettering Alter), who finished third in the 800
meters, junior Skip Ivery (Columbus,
Ohio/Groveport-Madison) finished second in the 110-meter
high hurdles and junior Becky Barnes (Williamsport,
Ohio/Westfall) turned in a pair of personal best
performances, including a time of 19:06.49 in the 5000 meters that
was good for third place. Barnes' performance earned her NCAC
Distance Runner Athlete of the Week recognition.
Next: 4/4-5 Wittenberg Challenge Multi-Event