Wabash received all nine first-place votes as the favorite to win the 2019 North Coast Athletic Conference outdoor track and field men's team title at this weekend's championship meet to be held at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.
 
Wabash scored a total of 81 points in the pre-championship poll. Defending men's outdoor champion Ohio Wesleyan received 72 points for second place in the poll. Wooster is third with 62 points followed by DePauw (49 points, Oberlin (41), Denison (34), Wittenberg (29), Allegheny (28), and Kenyon (9). Wabash captured the 2019 NCAC Indoor Track and Field Championship title in March. The Little Giants won the 2017 outdoor championship as part of six outdoor and six indoor conference team titles. Wabash captured five consecutive outdoor conference crowns from 2011 to 2015.
 
The Little Giants have already claimed an early lead in the team standings by posting three top-six finishes in the decathlon at last weekend's NCAC Multi-Events Meet at Oberlin College. Ballard Suiter earned All-NCAC honors with a second-place finish in decathlon and was joined on the all-conference team by Hunter Baehl with a third-place finish. Max Bigler placed sixth overall in his first decathlon effort. Wabash scored a total of 17 points after the first overall event and leads Oberlin in second place by three points after the Yeomen scored 14 points. Denison is third with a total of five points, followed by Wooster with two points. Ohio Wesleyan scored one point in the decathlon for fifth place heading into the full weekend of competition.
 
Junior RaShawn Jones enters the weekend with top time in the 110-meter hurdles this season at 14.93. Josh Wiggins is third in the event list at 15.8 while Leo Warbington sits in fifth place at 15.87. Preston Whaley, an indoor All-American at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in the triple jump, is at the top of the list in both the long jump and triple jump in the NCAC. His mark of 6.66 meters (21 feet, 10.25 meters) is the best in the long jump. Teammate Gianni Minor is second in the conference with a leap of 6.63 meters (21 feet, 9 inches). Whaley's top effort in the outdoor triple jump this year is 14.61 meters (47 feet, 11.25 inches) to lead the NCAC heading into the championship meet.
 
The Wabash relay teams have also turned in high-level efforts this season when compared to other times from conference teams. The 4x400-meter relay team has a season-best time of 3:20.32, nearly one second quicker than the second-fastest time posted by Ohio Wesleyan. The Little Giants ran the 4x100-meter relay in 42.17 last weekend at the GINA Relays in Michigan for the second-best time this season among conference schools.
 
Bigler is the atop the high jump performance list after clearing 1.95 meters (6 feet, 4.75 inches) two weeks ago at the Indiana DIII Championships.
 
Whaley and Wiggins are second on the performance list in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles, respectively. Whaley's top time this season is 49.14 while Wiggins has finished the hurdles event in 56.04. Jones is tied for third in 400-meter hurdles with a top time this year of 56.86.  
 
Baehl produced his top throw of the season in the javelin as part of his performance in the decathlon last weekend with a toss of 53.90 meters to rank second overall in the conference. Donnie Mader ranks second in the discus throw with a top mark this season of 44.50 meters (146 feet). Daniel Howe is third on the list with a distance of 44.14 meters (144 feet, 10 inches). Isaiah Campbell is third on the performance list in the shot put with a top effort of 14.45 (47 feet, 5 inches) at the Indiana DIII Championship meet. Gossett also enters the meet ranked second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.33.

Distance runners Dominic Patacsil and Ethan Pine have turned in top-three efforts on the NCAC performance list this season. Patacsil ranks second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 30:43.18 and is third in the 5,000-meter run with a season-best time of 15:08.06. Pine ran the 1500 meters in 3:57.96 at the Indiana DIII Championships.
 
The 2019 NCAC Outdoor Championships begin Friday, May 3 and conclude on Saturday, May 4. Complete information regarding the championship meet is available on the NCAC website at http://www.northcoast.org/sports/track/Championships/2019NCAC-Central.