Nicole Bailey
The Wittenberg men's and women's track and field teams performed
to the best of their abilities last weekend at the 2005 North Coast
Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships at Ohio Wesleyan. The
Tiger men placed third, while the women's team finished
seventh.
The story of the meet, from a Wittenberg perspective, was senior
Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian), who
was named NCAC Outdoor Field Events Athlete of the Year for his
exploits. He earned All-NCAC recognition by virtue of a top-three
finish in seven different events, five individual and two as a
member of relays. Now with more than 20 All-NCAC designations to
his credit, Rumschlag also was the NCAC Indoor Field Events Athlete
of the Year in 2004 and 2005.
Rumschlag earned All-NCAC honors with a third place finish in the
100 meters, second in the 200 meters, first in the long jump, first
in the triple jump and first in the decathlon. In addition,
Rumschlag ran the third leg on the 400-meter relay and the
1600-meter relay, both of which placed second.
Individually, the Tiger men had four other all-conference
performances turned in during the outdoor meet. Freshman
David Emrath (Elsmere, Ky./Lloyd) placed third in
the 400 meters for his first career all-conference designation,
freshman Mike Echols (Springfield, Ohio/North)
took third in the 800 meters, sophomore Andy Karcher
(Oceola, Ohio/Bucyrus Wynford) placed third in the hammer
and sophomore Mark O'Brien (Shavertown, Pa./Dallas
Senior) took third place in the decathlon, good for his
first all-conference award.
In the relay events, Wittenberg's men placed second in both the
1600- and 400-meter events. In the 400-meter relay, junior
David Bazzel (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), junior
Gregg Carter (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville),
Rumschlag and Emrath teamed up for the All-NCAC finish. In the
1600-meter relay, Emrath, Echols, Rumschlag and senior Chad
Kresser (Findlay, Ohio/Findlay) comprised the
all-conference quartet for the Tigers.
On the women's side, the team leader was precocious freshman
Nicole Bailey (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country
Day), who earned three All-NCAC honors at the 2005 Indoor
Championships. Bailey placed second in the 100 meters, third in the
long jump and second in the triple jump, all of which were good for
all-conference designations.
The only other All-NCAC honor was earned by freshman
Allison Walker (Columbus, Ohio/Academy), who
placed third in the hammer throw.
Next: 5/6-7 @ Ohio State