Sophomore Geoff Lambert (left) blistered the previous Wabash and Knowling Fieldhouse record in his 800-meter run Saturday afternoon, setting one of the three Little Giant records in the inaugural Wabash Open Invitational. No team score was kept in the competition.
Lambert finished in 1:53.31, shattering the Fieldhouse record by nearly four seconds while breaking his own school record by more than three seconds. His time was also good enough to top the NCAA Divison III "B" cut time, giving him a chance to participate in the Indoor Championships later in March.
The 800-meter mark wasn't the only record set in Saturday's meet. Freshman Wade Heiny (below right) cruised to a sub-eight second mark in a win in the 55-meter hurdles. Heiny broke the indoor record set earlier this season by fellow freshman Arthur Banks, winning the race with a time of 7.95. Banks had a good race himself, finishing third with a time of 8.42.
Senior Ben Tritle won the shot put with a Wabash indoor record throw of 45 feet, 6-1/2 inches to top his own record of 43 feet, 3-1/4 inches set earlier this season. Justin Sparks was second (43' 00-1/4"), with John Tsintis finishing fourth (42' 08") and Pat Long fifth (42' 4-3/4").
Nelson Barre won the pole vault, clearing 12' 06". Andrew Rode and Mike Russell tied for first place in the high jump, each clearing 5' 10". Rode also took third in the triple jump (11.49 meters), trailing event winner Thomas Bell with a leap of 12.01 meters. Russell was second in the long jump (6.53 meters), while Rode added another third place finish to his meet results (5.78 meters).
Sophomore Bart Banach led a parade of Wabash runners to the finish line in the 55-meter dash finals. Banach won the event with a time of 6.72. Freshman Ja'Michael Hill was second (6.75), while Russell was just behind in third (6.77). Richard Roomes was fifth in the finals (6.83).
Matt Maher was the winner of the 5000-meter run, finishing in 15:59 ahead of second place teammate Dustin Beck (16:12). Russell added his own first place finish in the 200-meter dash (23.18), finishing just in front of Hill in third (23.59). Freshman Hugh Jackson won the mile run with a time of 4:44.
Dennis Frazee was the final first place finisher for the Little Giants, winning the 3000-meter run with a time of 9:02.
The 4 X 200-meter relay team of Banach, Hill, Roomes, and Russell also set a Knowling Fieldhouse record, winning the event with a time of 1:32.12 in the first running event of the Invitational.
Wabash will participate in the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships March 3-4 at Denison University.
Sports home page - Bart Banach, Mike Russell, and Richard Roomes race for the finish line in the 55-meter dash finals Saturday. Banach won the event.