Season in Review
The Wittenberg University men's and women's track and field teams put together one of the finest seasons in school history in 2003-04.
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Skip Ivery
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The men finished third in the North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Championships and second in the NCAC Outdoor Championships in 2004, and three All-America honors were earned by Tiger athletes. Senior Tim Gaal (Amanda, Ohio/Clearcreek) capped his career with his third trip to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship meet and his second All-America honor in the javelin. Senior Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) took home a raft of awards during the indoor and outdoor seasons, none of which were bigger than his third and fourth All-America honors in the hurdles events.
The women finished fifth in the NCAC Indoor Championships and fourth in the NCAC Outdoor Championships, and two athletes advanced to the NCAA Division III Championships. Senior Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Alter) earned her first All-America honor, to go along with numerous All-NCAC awards, and senior Geri Woessner (Dayton, Ohio/Oakwood) finished 13th in the heptathlon and 18th in the javelin at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championship meet.
Wittenberg finished in a tie for 44th place with seven points in the men's team competition as Ivery and Gaal both earned All-America honors for a second straight year. Wittenberg finished in a tie for 54th place with three points in the women's team competition as Zilli earned All-America honors in her first appearance in the national meet and Woessner posted two top-20 finishes.
Gaal placed in the top 11 for the third straight year in the javelin. With a throw of 202-9 inches, less than four feet short of his Wittenberg and NCAC record, Gaal finished fourth in the 2004 event. At the 2003 NCAA Division III Championship meet, Gaal posted a throw of 197-1, good for a second-place finish. He won the javelin four straight years at the NCAC championships, in addition to capturing first place in the decathlon each of the last two years. He holds the Wittenberg and NCAC records in the javelin at 206-0.
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Kelly Zilli
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Gaal, also a four-year letterwinner in football as a
defensive back, had the 12th best throw in the nation coming into
the meet. In 2002, Gaal placed 11th at the national meet in the
javelin.
Ivery, the defending NCAA Division III 110-meter hurdles
champion, finished seventh in 2004 with a finals time of 14.95. In
the preliminary heat, Ivery posted a blistering school-record time
of 14.36. Last year, Ivery set a track record at St. Lawrence
University with a time of 14.63. It was just the third NCAA track
and field title for a Wittenberg athlete, and the first since
Sheila Simon won the high jump in 1983.
It was Ivery's fourth track and field All-America honor. He
was also second in the 55-meter hurdles at the 2003 NCAA Division
III Indoor Track and Field Championships and fourth in the same
event at the 2004 NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field
Championships. He won four NCAC indoor hurdles titles and three
NCAC outdoor hurdles titles in his career, and he was the Great
Lakes Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year in 2004. He was also
the NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year at both the indoor and
outdoor championship meets in 2004. Ivery ranked 15th in the nation
in the 110-meter hurdles coming into the national meet.
In the preliminary heat of the 800 meters, Zilli recorded a
school-record time of 2:13.44, and then in the finals she turned in
a time of 2:15.46, good for sixth place and her first All-America
honor. Zilli, a two-time NCAC indoor 800-meter champion and a
two-time NCAC outdoor 800-meter champion, also earned six All-NCAC
awards as a relay runner in her career. Zilli holds school records
in the 500 meters, 800 meters, indoor and outdoor pole vault and as
a member of four indoor and outdoor relay events.
Zilli ranked 14th in the nation in the 800 meters prior to
the national meet.
Rounding things out, Woessner finished 13th in the heptathlon
and 18th in the javelin. The school and conference record-holder in
the heptathlon, Woessner turned in a mark of 4,343 at the national
meet, the second highest point total of her career. She finished
first in the heptathlon at the NCAC meet three times in four years,
and she added her first career title in the javelin at the 2004
meet, setting a school record in the process.
Woessner is one of the finest female athletes in school
history with 12 varsity letters to her credit, four each in track,
soccer and basketball. Woessner's mark in the heptathlon placed her
ninth going into the national meet, and her mark in the javelin
placed her 18th prior to the weekend's festivities.
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Joe Rumschlag
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Track athletes earn All-NCAC recognition with a top-three finish in the NCAC meet. The Tiger men claimed second place in the outdoor championship meet for the second straight year. The Tiger women finished fourth in the outdoor meet for a second straight year.
Gaal successfully defended his decathlon title with a season-best point total of 5,720, and he won his fourth NCAC crown in the javelin with a mark of 184-6. In addition, he finished third in the long jump, sixth in the high jump and eighth in the triple jump. The finishes in the decathlon, javelin and long jump were all good for All-NCAC honors.
Ivery won the 110-meter hurdles and the 400-meter hurdles. The 110-meter hurdles crown was his third straight and the two individual titles gave Ivery eight NCAC hurdles first-place finishes in his career, including the four 55-meter hurdles titles he won in the indoor championships.
Neither Ivery or Gaal scored as many points as junior Joe Rumschlag (Maumee, Ohio/Toledo Christian), who took All-NCAC honors with a third-place finish in the 100 meters, second in the 200 meters, second in the decathlon, second in the triple jump and first in the long jump for the second straight year. In addition, juniorJason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) placed third in the 400-meter hurdles to garner All-NCAC honors for a second straight year.
In the relay events, Wittenberg placed third in both the 1600- and 400-meter events. In the 400-meter relay, sophomore David Bazzel (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe), senior Alex Yurovitsky (Richmond Heights, Ohio/Lyndhurst Brush), freshman Gregg Carter (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) and sophomore Matt Locke (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) teamed up for the All-NCAC finish. In the 1600-meter relay, Locke, Yurovitsky, Toman and Rumschlag were All-NCAC.
For the women, Woessner claimed first place in the heptathlon for the third time in four years and all-conference honors in the event. The mark of 4,455 broke her own school and conference records. She added her first career title in the javelin with an NCAA provisional mark of 132-3, a school record. Woessner also was all-conference with a third-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 16-6 1/2. She also placed fourth in the shot put and high jump.
Zilli won in the 800 meters for the second straight year. She also anchored the second-place 1600-meter relay to a new school record. The first three legs of that event were run by sophomore Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), freshman Antonette Green (Euclid, Ohio/Euclid) and freshman Jessica McClish (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby).
Rounding things out, senior Becky Barnes (Williamsport, Ohio/Westfall) broke the school record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 38:54.06, good for third place, and she followed that with a second-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 11:58.71. Freshman Lisa Nicholls (North Bend, Ore./North Bend)placed third in the hammer throw with a mark of 105-9.
Ivery claimed his fourth straight 55-meter hurdles title in a meet record time of 7.55. Rumschlag won titles in the long jump (22-1/2) and in the 200-meter dash - with a school-record time of 22.75 - and finished second in the triple jump (42' 8-34") and the 400-meter run (51.44).
In addition, the 800-meter relay quartet of Bazzel, Carter, Toman and Locke finished first, and Carter placed third in the 200 meters.
On the women's side, the Tigers placed fifth with 41.5 points. Zilli was the team's lone individual champion, as she staked her claim to the 800 meters for a second straight year with a time of 2:20.60.
In the 1600-meter relay, Wittenberg placed second in a time of 4:08.83, earning All-NCAC honors for McClish, Green, Zilli and Finkelstein.
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Becky Barnes
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Barnes also ran well at the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championship meet, where she placed 30th in a large field. That finish earned her a place on the All-Region Team. After the season, Barnes and sophomore Tracy Butler (Ft. Wayne, Ind./Homestead) were named to the United States Track Coaches Association All-Academic Team for their exploits in both cross country and track and field.
For the women, the senior troika of Barnes, Jenny Brill (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and Nikki Norcia (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick)formed a strong leadership core. Barnes was the most accomplished runner among the three as she served as team captain and led the team in every 2003 event.
For the men, the three seniors were Andrew Hobson (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington), Jeff Domingus (London, Ohio/London) and Tim Damopoulos (Grove City, Ohio/Grove City), who formed a similarly strong leadership group in 2003. Domingus and Damopoulos finished in the top five scorers for the Tigers in every event in 2003.
Shutt was a four-year letterwinner for the Allegheny indoor and outdoor track and field squads, earining all-conference honors in the pole vault. Shutt came to Wittenberg after serving as the assistant coach at Hillsdale College, where he also served as director of the intramural program. While at Hillsdale, Shutt coached several national qualifiers and an All-American.