A dominating effort in 800-meter run and a thrilling finish in the 800-meter relay capped an outstanding day of competition for the Wabash track and field team at the non-scoring 2009 Little Giant Indoor Invitational Saturday at the Rob Johnson Track in the Knowling Fieldhouse.
The Little Giants scored 15 top-five finishes against a strong field of 179 men competing in the meet. (View photos from the event here.)
The freshmen trio of Kevin McCarthy, Garret Bonk, and Spencer Sheridan grabbed three of the top-five spots in the 800-meter run. McCarthy posted his second individual title of the season, winning the event with a time of 2:00.17. Bonk was second at 2:01.04, while Sheridan took fifth by crossing the finish line at 2:04.40.
Wabash stayed stride for stride with the team from St. Joseph's College with three good laps from Emmanuel Aouad, Jake Zielinski, and Andre Adeymi. Wes Chamblee held off two late charges from St. Joseph's Andre Wadley on the final circuit to win the event for the Little Giants with a time of 3:29.46.
Bill Digman added a victory in the 5000-meter run with a winning time of 16:36.60. Hugh Jackson grabbed first place in the mile run with a time of 4:25.13. Donovan White and Micah Milliman came to the finish line nearly even in the mile. White took fifth place (4:35.22) while Milliman was sixth (4:35.69). Justin Allen finished second in the 3000-meter run (9:08.25). Jackson took fifth place (9:20.00).
Aouad and Wade Heiny finished second and fourth, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles. Aouad was second in the finals with a time 7.80 after winning his preliminary heat with a time of 8.00. Heiny took fourth place with a time of 8.24 in the finals. Aouad was also fifth in the long jump with a mark of 6.32 meters (20 feet, 9 inches).
Chamblee added another top-five finish in the 200-meter dash (23.48, fifth place). He also qualified for the finals in the 55-meter dash, taking eighth place with a time of 6.85. Chamblee, Aouad, Adeymi, and Zielinski combined to take third in the 1600-meter relay race (3:29.46). McCarthy, Bonk, and Sheridan joined Lemi Laki for a fourth-place finish in the race (3:33.19).
The Little Giants will compete at the 2009 North Coast Athletic Conference Relays Saturday at Denison University.