Emmanuel Aouad, Rob Smallman, and Geoff Lambert continued their drive toward the NCAA Division III Indoor National Championship meet by posting provisional qualifying marks at Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference Championships. The Little Giants finished fourth out of ten teams at the annual meet.
Aouad repeated as the long jump and 55-meter hurdles title. He won the 55 hurdles with a time of 7.72, posting another NCAA provisional time in an attempt to qualify for the nationals in two weeks. His long jump mark of 6.81 meters or 22 feet 4-1/4 inches was five inches further than his winning mark from last year.
Smallman nearly topped 16 feet to win Saturday's pole vault title. He increased his season-best height by clearing 4.86 meters (15 feet 11-1/4 inches), all but guaranteeing his spot at nationals.
Geoff Lambert, one week after posting his first qualifying time of the year in 800-meter run at the Eastern Illinois Invitational, put together his best run of the season to earn All-Conference honors once again in that event. He cruised to the win in the 800 with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 1:54.49. Lambert finished over four seconds ahead of the rest of the field.
Hugh Jackson also earned All-Conference honors in the mile run, finishing second with a time of 4:20.49. Four members of the Little Giants' 1600-meter relay team --- Wes Chamblee, Tim Rickard, Quincy Dotson, and Lambert --- also received All-NCAC accolades with a second place finish (3:27.59).
Wabash rebounded from a scoreless first day at the meet to pick up 69 points on Saturday to finish fourth in the team standings. Ohio Wesleyan won the meet with 163.50 points, edging out defending champion Allegheny (135 points). Denison, the host school for the meet, took third (73 points). Oberlin (49.5) was fifth, followed by Wooster (48), Kenyon (25), Wittenberg (25), Earlham (24), and Hiram (12).