The Little Giant indoor track and field team paid tribute to longtime Wabash coach and mentor Robert H. Johnson in the 2009-2010 season-opening meet with three individual first-place finishes and a relay victory at Saturday's non-scoring Johnson Early Bird Invitational.
Garett Bonk (left) took individual honors in the 400-meter dash by narrowly beating teammate Jake Waterman to the finish line. Bonk won with a time of 53.06, while Waterman was right behind with a mark of 53.68. Kevin McCarthy added an individual championship in the 800-meter run with a winning time of 1:58.18. Justin Allen grabbed first place in the 3000-meter run by crossing the finish line in 8:53.78.
The distance medley team of Micah Milliman, Spencer Sheridan, Waterman, and McCarthy posted a time of 10:30.99 to take the top spot in the final standings.
Wabash added a second place finish in the 800-meter relay. John Haley, Jake Zielinski, Chet Riddle, and Emmanuel Aouad combined to finish in 1:32.27. Aouad took second place in the finals of the 55-meter dash (6.89). Freshman Patrick Posthauer was fifth (7.01), while Patrick Neary was sixth (7.13).
James Kervan and Billy Rosson took second and third place, respectively, in the 200-meter dash. Kevan finished in 24.64, while Rosson posted a time of 24.92. Jacob Surface put together a personal best in the mile run to take third place with a time of 4:51. Brian David was third inthe 5,000-meter run (16:33.81), while Kenny Farris took fourth place (16:37.19).
Matt Knox was fourth in the pole vault, clearing 13 feet, 6 inches. Sam Glowinski cleared 13 feet to take fifth place. Josh Sparks was sixth at 12 feet. Zach Helman finished fifth in the shot put with a mark of 41 feet, 1-3/4 inches. Joe Granger took eighth place (37 feet, 10-3/4 inches).
The Little Giants are off for the remainder of the 2009 calendar year. Wabash returns to action January 23 for the Little Giant Alumni Invitational.