Greg Savage
DELAWARE, Ohio - The Wittenberg track and field teams wrapped up the 2009 campaign with fourth and seventh place finishes for the women's and men's teams, respectively, in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championships at Ohio Wesleyan.
For the women, an individual and relay title sparked a surge in the standings as the Tigers jumped from seventh place after the opening day. Freshman Jordan Stafford (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon) ran away from the field in the 400-meter dash for a stellar 57.99 winning time. Classmate Catherine Kuerbitz (Cleveland, Ohio/Regina) took fourth in the same event with a 59.25 clocking.
Kuerbitz also ran as part of a 4x100-meter relay team that took home top honors, joining two other freshmen - Tim'ara Gandy (Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline) andKari Domiano (Dublin, Ohio/Jerome) - and junior Laura Schumaker (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) in a time of 50.78 to outrace the field.
Domiano capped off a busy weekend with an All-NCAC honor in the 100-meter dash with a third-place time of 13.32 and sixth in the 200 meters. Gandy joined Domiano in both races, and scored sixth and eighth place marks, respectively. Schumaker also took fourth in the 100 hurdles.
Another first-year made her mark as Darcy Dubuc (Grand Haven, Mich./Grand Haven) ran to an all-conference, third-place finish in the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:47.94. She returned to score a seventh-place time in the 800. FreshmanEvianne van de Zande (Zierkizee, The Netherlands) added another All-NCAC honor with a jump of 4'11.75" in the high jump for another Tiger third place.
All-conference selections rounded out with the third-place 4x400-meter relay, where Kuerbitz, Stafford and Samantha Iden (Pickerington, Ohio/North) joined senior Katie Shoemaker (Arcanum, Ohio/Franklin Monroe) in a time of 4:04.83.
On Day 2 for the men, senior Gabe Savage (Lewisburg, Ohio/Tri-County North)recorded the lone all-conference selection on the track with a time of 3:57.90 in the 1500. Junior Mat Guida (LaGrange, Ky./Oldham County) took his second All-NCAC honor of the weekend in the field events in the hammer throw with a third place mark of 148'4". Junior Brandyn Brown (Louisville, Ky./Male) added a fourth place in the 100 with a time of 11.22.
The men's 4x400 capped off the careers of three seniors with a fourth-place time of 3:22.04. Manny Lamarre (Miami, Fla./Bellen Jesuit), Jimmy Thinnes (Cincinnati, Ohio/LaSalle) and Mark King (Indianapolis, Ind./Ben Davis) partnered with sophomore Jumar Guy (Fort Wayne, Ind./Southside) to round out the meet.
The Tiger track and field teams have plenty to be excited about for 2009-10 with a strong core of underclassmen returning to guide Craig Penney's squads through the NCAC.
Written by: Ben Bradley, SID Assistant