Panthers Record Landmark Win in Program's First Track Competition

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Bolstered by top performances in nearly every event, Ohio Dominican's men's track and field team raced to a victory at Capital University's Purple and White Invitational Saturday in the first indoor meet in program history.

The men tallied 145 points to win the meet, edging Otterbein (136) for the title. The women's squad, meanwhile, had a strong showing of its own, placing fourth with a total of 49 points.

Ohio Dominican officially added track and field as a varsity sport in November, 2010 and with a roster comprised almost entirely of true freshmen, found success in the sprints, distance, field and relay events in its first official performance.

On the men's side, freshman Xavier Leonard (Atlanta, Ga.) won the 400 with a time of 52.00 and crossed the line second in the 200 at 23.29. Freshman Cameron Lowe (Chillicothe, Ohio) won the 500 in 1:11.51 and classmate Aaron Johnson (Troy, Ohio) took third in 1:15.95. Johnson also came in third in the 60 meter hurdles in 8.86.

The Panthers took the top three spots in the 800 meter run, led by freshman Ashton Hall (Huber Heights, Ohio) with his time of 2:02.12, with freshman Dominick Smith (Dayton, Ohio) coming in second and freshman Jason Williams (Powell, Ohio) taking third. ODU also grabbed three of the top four positions in the mile run, as freshman Todd Hewitt (Eaton, Ohio) won in 4:48.59, and sophomore Chris Liebold (Green Springs, Ohio) and junior Brian Litt (Mansfield, Ohio) placed third and fourth, respectively.

Freshman Ethan Miller (Monclova, Ohio) scored a win in the 5000 meter run in a time of 17:27.94, and Michael Barber (New Franklin, Ohio) came in second in the 5000 meter run (9:42.44). Freshman Darrell Harley (Columbus, Ohio) crossed the line third in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.23, followed by Leonard in fifth and freshman Dillon Seckman (Westerville, Ohio) in seventh. Freshman Kenny Brown (Westerville, Ohio) was fifth in the 400 (52.98) and freshman Matt Richardson (Columbus, Ohio) was fourth in the 1000 meter run.

In the field events, freshman Tyler Fifer (Westerville, Ohio) had a busy afternoon as he took third in both the high jump (6-00.00) and triple jump (42-09.00) while also taking sixth in the long jump (20-09.75). Freshman Trey Hammons-Scott (Huber Heights, Ohio) took fifth in the high jump at 5-10.00, and freshman Patrick Palmer (Delray Beach, Fla.) placed eighth in the shot put with a toss of 41-08.00

ODU's relay teams also had success, as the 4x400 team of Brown, Smith, Hall and Harley won the 4x400 in 3:33.08 and the 4x200 squad of freshmen Chris Witcher (North Canton, Ohio), Seckman, Mardel Manningham (Warren, Ohio) and Tyrique Harper placed second in 1:36.71. The distance medley squad of Lowe, Williams, Hewitt and Richardson also placed second in 11:27.75.

Ohio Dominican's distance runners paced the women's team, as senior Meghan Willeke (Lexington, Ohio) won the 3000 meter run in 11:20.57 and sophomore Mallory Kitts (Springfield, Ohio) placed second in the 5000 meter run with a mark of 19:59.35.

Freshman Tara Walker (Lewis Center, Ohio) and classmate Rachel Collins (Dayton, Ohio) went two-three in the 800 meter dash with marks of 2:35.45 and 2:41.05, respectively, and Walker also took second in the mile run (5:40.81). Also scoring in the mile run was sophomore Michelle McKean (Pataskala, Ohio) in seventh (6:11.67), while Larresha Palmer (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) finished seventh in the 400 meter dash (1:09.11).

Both track teams are off for the next month and will return to action at the Capital Challenge, hosted by Capital University, on Saturday, Jan. 14.

Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu