Wabash came within seven points of defending its North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Relays championship from last season. The Little Giants finished second to Ohio Wesleyan University. Wabash scored 79 points while the Battling Bishops won the title with 86.
The Wabash thinclads captured two first place finishes in the meet run at Denison University in Granville, Ohio Saturday afternoon. The 1600-meter relay team of Keith Clayton (SO/Colorado Springs, CO/Fountain Valley School), Nathan Bates (SO/Ossian, IN/Norwell), Tim Rickard (FR/Valparaiso, IN/Valparaiso), and Geoff Lambert (FR/Chesterton, IN/Chesterton) won the race in 3:32.48, outdistancing the rest of the field by two seconds. Clayton, Rickard, and Bates joined freshman Mike Russell (Terre Haute, IN/North Vigo) to win the 800-meter relay, finishing in 1:34.19.
Freshman Nelson Barre (Highlands Ranch, CO/J.K. Mullen HS—Colorado College) and sophomore Josh Jones (North Richland Hills, TX/Nolan Catholic) combined for a second place finish in the triple jump relay. Barre had a jump of 37 feet, 1-1/2 inches, while Jones’ best jump was measured at 40 feet, five inches for a total of 77 feet, 6-1/2 inches. Barre also joined sophomore Jared Jackson (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) for a second place finish in the pole vault relay. Jackson had a best effort of 12 feet, while Barre cleared 10 feet, six inches.
Russell and Ashley Stephen (SO/Centerville, IN/Centerville) took second in the high jump relay. Russell cleared six feet. Stephen topped out at five feet, 10 inches.
Wabash will compete in the DePauw Invitational Saturday, February 5.