Tigers Tune Up For Stretch Run With Busy Weekend

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Wittenberg men's and women's track and field teams tuned up for the championship competition that awaits over the next month with fine performances at Ohio State on Friday and Capital on Saturday.

A small group of Tigers ran in Ohio State's Buckeye Tune-Up on Friday, and another record fell in the process. A larger group of Tigers competed in the Capital Classic/Rick Meindl Last Chance on Saturday, with several competitors earning personal-best times and marks.

The high point of the weekend was the school-record time of 4:01.67 posted by the members of the women's 4x400-meter relay team at the Buckeye Tune-Up. In taking fourth place in a race filled with scholarship student-athletes, the quartet of sophomore Brea Medlock (Galena, Ohio/Big Walnut), freshman Frankie Bowsher (Gahanna, Ohio/Lincoln), freshman Alaina Longshore (Columbus, Ohio/Franklin Heights) and sophomore Jordan Crow (North Las Vegas, Nev./Palo Verde) posted a time that puts them in the top 15 in all of NCAA Division III.

Also of note from the Ohio State meet was another blistering time by senior Victor Banjo (Sugarland, Texas/Stephen F. Austin) in the 60-meter dash. He placed third in a time of 6.83.

Less than 24 hours later, the rest of the Tigers got their chance. Among the finishes of note were a personal-best in the weight throw from sophomore Daniel Mason (Springfield, Ohio/Greenon) and a personal-best mark in the pole vault from freshman Alex Owens (Enon, Ohio/Greenon). Sophomores Justin Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll) and Aaron Melsop (Westerville, Ohio/DeSales) both recorded their best times in the 60-meter dash and senior Maggie McIlvain (East Liverpool, Ohio/East Liverpool) had her finest race in the mile run.