Panther Pride: Top 12 Moments from 2011-12 (#5)
Ohio Dominican was officially accepted as a member of NCAA Division II on July 8, 2011, and the athletic programs took another big step forward in the 2011-12 year. OhioDominicanPanthers.com is counting down the top 12 moments from the past year.
No. 12 - Football Knocks Off Regionally Ranked Foes to Cap Season (June 4)
No. 11 - Women's Golf Scores Win at Qdoba Invite (June 5)
No. 10 – Home Cooking for ODU Softball Team (June 6)
No. 9 - GLIAC Preview Title Highlights Men's Golf Campaign (June 7)
No. 8 – Panthers Stun Grand Valley with 41-8 Run (June 8)
No. 7 – Men's Tennis Wins Out to Earn GLIAC Tourney Bid (June 11)
No. 6 – Men's Soccer Takes Down No. 18 Ashland (June 12)
No. 5 – First Meet, First Title for Men's Track Team
The decision to add track and field as a varsity sport at Ohio Dominican came in November of 2010, and it didn't take long for that decision to pay immediate dividends.
Competing with a squad made up almost entirely of freshmen, the Panthers entered the 2011-12 year with lots of enthusiasm but little collegiate experience.
After one indoor intrasquad meet, ODU jumped into its first competition, the Purple & White Invitational at nearby Capital University, and the men's team came with the team championship while the women placed fourth.
Xavier Leonard won the 400 with a time of 52.00 and crossed the line second in the 200 at 23.29. Cameron Lowe won the 500 in 1:11.51 and classmate Aaron Johnson 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 Ashton Hall with his time of 2:02.12, with freshman Dominick Smith coming in second and Jason Williams taking third. ODU also grabbed three of the top four positions in the mile run, as Todd Hewitt won in 4:48.59, and Christopher Liebold and Brian Litt placed third and fourth, respectively.
Ethan Miller scored a win in the 5000 meter run in a time of 17:27.94, and Michael Barber came in second in the 5000 (9:42.44). Darrell Harley crossed the line third in the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.23, Kenny Brown was fifth in the 400 (52.98) and Matt Richardson was fourth in the 1000 meter run.
In the field events, Tyler Fifer 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). Trey Hammons-Scott took fifth in the high jump at 5-10.00.
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 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 Meghan Willeke won the 3000 meter run in 11:20.57 and Mallory Kitts placed second in the 5000 meter run with a mark of 19:59.35.
Tara Walker and classmate Rachel Collins 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 Michelle McKean in seventh (6:11.67), while Larresha Palmer finished seventh in the 400 meter dash (1:09.11).
Contact: Scott Miles
miless@ohiodominican.edu
