Results
Wabash jumped out to an early lead at the 2012 North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships thanks to strong performances in the first-day field events.
The Little Giants scored 11 top-eight finishes in four different events on Friday.
Derek De St Jean,
Kris Klondaris, and
Devin Kelley each earned all-conference honors by finishing 1-2-3 in the discus. De St Jean won the event with a mark of 48.10 meters (157 feet, 10 inches). Klondaris finished second with a throw of 41.75 meters (137 feet), while Kelley took third with a mark of 40.22 meters (131 feet, 11 inches).
Pierce Velderman added a point to the team total by finishing in eighth place (36.36 meters; 119 feet, 3 inches).
De St Jean added another championship title in the shot put with a winning throw of 15.28 meters (50 feet, 1.75 inches).
Joel Beier finished second in the shot put (14.35 meters; 47 feet, 1 inch), while
Joe Sukup took fifth place (13.16 meters; 43 feet, 2.25).
Vann Hunt won with long jump with a leap of 6.70 meters (21 feet, 11.75 inches).
Nathan Mueller finished second overall with a mark of 6.67 meters (21 feet, 10.75 inches).
Matt Knox finished second in the pole vault, clearing a height of 4.46 meters (14 feet, 7.50 inches).
Jackson Reid scored sixth-place points by clearing 4.06 meters (13 feet, 3.75 inches).
Brian David was the top finisher for Wabash in the 10,000-meter run, crossing the finish line in fourth place with a time of 31:40.07.
Jacob Ponton was fifth (32:21.74), while
Jared Burris was sixth (32:44.89).
A total of 22 Wabash runners earned places in Saturday's finals. The Little Giants earned five of the nine spots in the finals of the 800-meter run.
Donavan White posted the top qualifying time by crossing the finish line at 1:54.72.
Jake Waterman earned a place in the field with a time of 1:54.94, as did
Cole Hruskovich (1:56.74),
Kevin McCarthy (1:55.02), and
James Kervan (1:55.09). Wabash captured four qualifying spots in the 400-meter dash.
John Haley (49.37),
Joseph Conti (49.90),
Garett Bonk (49.81), and
Chet Riddle (50.39).
Mueller posted the top qualifying time in the 110-meter hurdles, overcoming an ankle injury suffered last week to post a time of 14.95 to win his heat.
Ronnie Posthauer won the other heat with a time of 15.20.
Billy Rosson (15.43) and
John Bogucki (15.53).
Three Little Giants will compete in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles. Rosson (56.36),
Joel Whittington (56.59), and Bogucki (56.75) each earned spots in Saturday's race. Haley won his heat of the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.18 to earn a place in the finals. He will be joined by teammates
Sean Hildebrand (22.60) and Riddle (22.66). Hildebrand will also compete in the finals of the 100-meter dash, qualifying with a time of 10.89.
Alfred Sambo (11.17) and Hunt (11.30) also earned spots in the 100-meter dash finals.
Wabash is on top of the team standings with a score of 91 points through six events. Ohio Wesleyan is second with 43 points, followed by DePauw in third with 38. Allegheny (18), Oberlin (16), Denison (15), Kenyon (5), Wittenberg (4), and Wooster (4) round out the team scoring through the first day including the scoring from last weekend's decathlon.
The 2012 championships will conclude on Saturday. Action begins at 10 a.m. with the field events. The running events will start at 2:30 p.m. The Little Giants are the favorite to repeat as conference champions after winning the school's first NCAC outdoor title in 2011.
