indoor track team – The Transcript

OWU track team sweeps triangle meet

Freshman Kevin Jones receives a baton from junior Colin McShane (pic- tured left). Photo by Leia Mizas.

Ross Hickenbottom, Sports Editor
Friday night was a successful one for the Ohio Wesleyan indoor track teams as they swept the OWU Triangular meet, where they hosted Mount Vernon Nazarene and Muskingum University.

The men’s track team, led by senior Adam Turner’s first place finishes in both the 300-meter dash and the 500-meter run, dominated the meet with their 180.5 points as compared to Mount Vernon Nazarene’s 84.5 and Muskingum’s 66.

A long list of first place finishers for the men include sophomore Nate Newman in the high jump, senior Aaron Port in the shot-put, junior Colin McShane in the 60-meter dash, senior Houston Smith in the 800-meter run, sophomore Nick Horton in the mile run, senior Nathan Madonich in the 3000-meter run, freshman Quentin Broomfield in the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Westin Short in the pole vault and senior Ahmed Abdel Halim in the triple jump.

Sophomores Nate Newman and Griffin Peyton as well as freshman Tommy Davis all feel as if the meet went as planned, if not better.

“We really exceeded expectations,” said Newman, a multi-event athlete.

As for the women’s team, the results are just as dominant as their male teammates.

Led by senior Sarah Alflen’s two gold medals in the shot put and the weight throw, the ladies took the meet with their 176 points, compared to 109 for Muskingum and a mere 26 for Mount Vernon Nazarene.

Another long list of gold medalists contributes to the team success, consisting of sophomore Emily Brown in the triple jump, sophomore Amanda Clay in the 60-meter dash, senior Sara Johnson in the 60-meter hurdles, sophomore Rachell Resnik in the mile run, senior Abbey Warth in the 800-meter run, freshman Alyssa Acevedo in the long jump, sophomore Nicole Rozsa in the pole vault and JaMilla Holland who won the 200-meter dash.

Meg Teitelman, a sophomore multi-event athlete, contributed the “great team win” to the freshmen stepping up to their calling. In specific, Alyssa Acevedo, who took gold in the long jump, as well as finishing second in both the 60-meter dash and the 60-meter hurdles.

Acevedo said the team was expected to “destroy them, and that’s what we did.”

Both teams look to continue their dominance in their upcoming NCAC Quad at the College of Wooster on Saturday the 23rd.

Indoor track team competes at NCAA championship

The Ohio Wesleyan indoor track and field team may not have finished first in the NCAA division III championship, but they did come away with experience and a new determination.

A total of five OWU athletes (three men and two women) took part in the Division III championship in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on March 13 and 14.

“It was a great experience going down to North Carolina and it was just nice to get some good competition and experience on a national level,” said junior Abbey Wrath who finished 15th in the mile. “The race didn’t play out how I wanted it to but it was a good learning experience.”

Three OWU men – senior Matt Hunter, junior Aaron Port and freshman Nate Newman – all competed in the heptathlon.

The men’s heptathlon, as the name suggests, is made up of seven events – 60 meter sprint, long jump, shot put, high jump, 60 meter hurdles, pole vault and 1000 meters.

“Just to make it my freshman year was pretty cool because everyone else there was a junior or senior,” Newman said. “The first day we had high jump, long jump, 60 dash and shot put… the second day I started doing a little better; we had the 60 hurdles, pole vault and then the 1000 meter run which is the killer.”

Newman went on to say that he is optimistic about his future with the sport because of his freshman status and that he looks forward to returning to the DIII championship.

Another OWU track and field athlete optimistic about their future is junior Sara Johnson, who finished 17th in the 60 meter hurdles.

This was Johnson’s second time participating in the DIII championship but her first for indoor track and field. Her first time was last summer when the championship was held at Selby Stadium.

“Last year for outdoor we hosted and it really was like a blessing because we hosted it at home and a lot of my family and friends came to support me,” Johnson said. “It was much different in North Carolina for indoor, it was more subtle, less dramatic, less people but there was a lot of pressure still.”

Johnson suffered a leg injury while running in this year’s championship which she feels slowed her down. However, going forward, she spoke about the confidence she gained.

“I was super upset afterwards,” Johnson said. “I’m just happy I made it that far. Next year I am definitely going for it.”