Tigers End Indoor Season WIth Strong Finishes At The NCAC Championships

The Wittenberg men's and women's track and field teams ended the indoor portion of the season with a strong finish at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet on March 6.

March 23, 2004

Skip Ivery

The Wittenberg men's and women's track and field teams ended the indoor portion of the season with a strong finish at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet on March 6. And then senior Skip Ivery (Columbus, Ohio/Groveport-Madison) turned in another All-American finish to the season as he finished fourth in the 55-meter hurdles at the NCAA Division III Championship Meet at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater on March 13.

Ivery came into the national competition with the fastest time during the regular season and he blistered the field in the preliminary heats as well. But a slow start in a short race is a killer, and Ivery didn't get out of the blocks cleanly in the finals, leading to a sub-par time - for him - and a fourth-place finish overall.

It was the second straight year that Ivery earned All-America standing in the event. He was second in 2003.

Last weekend, the teams opened the outdoor portion of the schedule at the Maroon Invitational at Roanoke College in Virginia. The Tiger men placed first in the team competition, while the Tiger women wound up fifth.

Freshman Gregg Carter (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) finished first in the 100 meters. Sophomore Matt Locke (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) led a 1-2-4 Wittenberg finish in the 110-meter hurdles, backed by junior Jason Toman (Greenville, Ohio/Greenville) in second place and sophomore Tom Smith (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) in fourth. Ivery led a 1-2-4-5 finish in the 110-meter hurdles as Toman was second, Locke fourth and Smith fifth.

On the women's side, senior Kelly Zilli (Dayton, Ohio/Kettering Alter) finished first in her specialty, the 800 meters. She also claimed the top prize in the 1600-meter relay, joined in that event by sophomore Anna Finkelstein (Whitehall, Mich./Reeths-Puffer), freshman Jessica McClish (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby) and freshman Antonette Green (Cleveland, Ohio/Euclid).

The Tigers are back in action Saturday at the University of Indianapolis' Jerry England Invitational.

Next: 3/27 at U. of Indianapolis