Tiger Track & Field Teams Enjoy Great Success On Opening Weekend

Springfield, Ohio - Student-athletes representing Wittenberg's men's and women's track and field teams fanned out across the Buckeye state and beyond on the opening weekend of the 2023-24 season, and the results were impressive at each locale.

Wittenberg sent competitors to the Oiler Opener at the University of Findlay and the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener at Boston University, while most of the team members competed in the first of three home indoor meets in The Steemer.

The Tiger Opener did not involve team scores, and it included competitors from a wide range of schools, including several NCAA Division I and Division II scholarship programs. There were numerous standout finishes, including those turned in by junior Meghan Frazier (Alliance, Ohio/Alliance), who finished second in the 400 meters with a school-record time of 57.69. That time currently ranks second nationally. Frazier also ran a leg of the 4x400-meter relay that finished in third place in a time of 4:02.06. She was joined on that relay by a trio of sophomores: Delaney Tackett (Waverly, Ohio/Waverly), Abby Danne (Johnstown, Ohio/Big Walnut), and Tymeerah De'Armond (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield), who finished third in the 400 meters.

Junior Julissa Williams (Lorain, Ohio/Lorain) also posted an early-season mark that put her in the national rankings as she finished second in the high jump with a mark of 1.63 meters. That performance puts Williams fourth nationally. In addition, Williams finished sixth in the long jump with a mark of 5.18 meters. Also of note, junior Haleigh Willison (Crooksville, Ohio/Crooksville) finished fourth in the 60-meter dash and eighth in the 200-meter dash, junior Reese Neumeyer (Whitehouse, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) finished fourth in 300-meter hurdles, sophomore Tiffany Hix (Prospect, Ohio/Elgin) placed second on the pole vault and sixth in the triple jump, freshman Jenna Delp (Canton, Ohio/GlenOak) took third in the long jump, sophomore Emma Doerman (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) finished third in the shot put, and sophomore Aidan Orth (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) took second in the weight throw.

Finally, sophomore Ella Webster (Van Buren, Ohio/Van Buren) started her indoor season at Boston University, where she broke the school record in the 3000 meters with a time of 9:53.56. This time currently ranks third nationally.

For Wittenberg's men, there were a trio of performances that made an impression nationally. Sophomore Grayson Ring (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) ran a personal-best time of 22.27 in the 200 meters, which was good for a third-place finish and ranks as the 11th-fastest nationally in the early going. Junior Ian McCandlish (Lancaster, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) won the 800 meters in a time of 1:53.49, which currently ranks first nationally, and he was a member of the 4x4-meter relay team that took third place in a time of 3:21.97. He was joined on the relay team by sophomore Cameron Elliott (Springfield, Ohio/Springfield), freshman Ethan Davis (Wapakoneta, Ohio/Houston), and Ring. And senior JJ Weisenberger (Collins, Ohio/Western Reserve) won the long jump with a mark of 6.92 meters that ranks ninth nationally after the opening weekend.

Davis also finished fourth in the 800 meters, Ring was fifth in the high jump, sophomore Jeremy Watson (Sugar Grove, Ohio/Berne Union) was second in the pole vault, and freshman Kane Cissell (LaGrange, Kentucky/Oldham County) took third in the triple jump.