Tiger Track & Field Has Record Day At NCAC Indoor Championships

Granville, OH – The Wittenberg University Track and Field team traveled to Denison University for the 2020 North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Championships over the weekend. The Tigers held true to the pre-championship polls on the women's side, capturing a third-place finish scoring an NCAC Indoor Championship team-record 129 points. The Wittenberg men saw significant improvement from the 2019 Championship meet, earning a fourth-place finish 72.25 points. Wittenberg swept the performer of the year awards on the women's side, with Alexis Gray earning the Distance/Middle Distance Athlete of the Year award, taking the top spot in the 800m run and stopping the clock in a time of 2:11.60, setting a new NCAC Indoor Championships meet record. Alexis Johnson brought back Field Athlete of the Year honors, capturing a first-place finish in the long jump competition with a leap of 5.53m (18-1.75). Alexis Walker followed up her Newcomer of the Year honors from 2019, taking the Sprinter of the Year award with wins in the 200m dash in a time of 25.56 and the 60m dash with a time of 7.93. Wittenberg added eight All-NCAC performances on the weekend on the women's side of the competition. Johnson would also capture a second-place finish in the triple jump portion of the weekend with a mark of 37-4.50. Wittenberg would take the top three spots in the 60m dash, as Johnson (8.03) and Stevie Plikerd (8.06) finished two-three with nearly identical times. Ryelee Clary took second-place in the 60m hurdles, clocking a time of 9.19. Clary added a fourth-place finish in the 200m dash. Wittenberg would also finish with the top time in the 4x400m relay, as the team of Walker, Maxine Wishman, Taylor Barnhisel and Gray posted a winning time of 4:07.15. Wittenberg's Preslee Rolf earned a fourth-place finish in the pole vault competition, clearing a height of 3.04m (9-11.68). Plikerd added a fourth-place finish for the Red and White in the long jump contest with a leap of 5.35m (17-6.62). Plikerd added a fifth-place finish in the triple jump, posting a mark of 10.73m (35-2.44). Skylar Edwards tallied a fifth-place finish in the shot put competition with a toss of 11.98 (39-3.65). Barnhisel added a sixth-place finish in the 400m dash with a time of 1:02.44. Elizabeth Canright added a fifth-place finish in the 5000m run, stopping the clock at 18:57.81.

The Wittenberg men's squad brought back six All-NCAC awards on the weekend. PJ Varnadoe got things started for the Red and White with a second-place finish in the long jump competition, completing a jump of 21-05.25. Jaycee Perry added another second-place finish to the Tiger total, clearing the bar at a height of 6-03.25 in the high jump competition. Jonathan Seay earned All-NCAC honors in the shot put contest with a toss of 47-09.25. Ian McCandlish captured All-NCAC honors in the 400m run, posting a time of 51.26. Both Tiger relay teams earned All-NCAC honors, starting with the 4x200m relay team of Tyler Branton, Zeke Bennett, Davide Haake and Austyn Albanese, posting a time of 1:32.39 and a third-place finish. The Wittenberg 4x400m relay team of Albanese, McCandlish, Bennett and Deven Ramsey earned All-NCAC with a second-place finish in a time of 3:25.31. Ramsey added a fourth-place finish in the 800m run in a time of 1:59.68.