Two new meet records, 15 All-Conference efforts, and a total of 40 top-eight finishes allowed the Wabash track and field team to cruise to a second place finish at the 2010 North Coast Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday in Delaware, Ohio.
Ohio Wesleyan won the team title with 220 total points. Wabash took second (161-1/2), well ahead of Allegheny in third (93). Oberllin (89), Wooster (69), Wittenberg (61), Denison (56), Earlham (47), and Kenyon (18-1/2) completed the team scoring.
Senior Emmanuel Aouad added four more All-NCAC awards to his totals in his final conference meet, along with one new meet record. Junior Wes Chamblee picked up four conference awards and a new meet mark, as well.
Aouad won the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.52, edging the old meet record of 14.53 of Dwight Carter from Wittenberg in 1994. The time also broke Aouad's own school record in the event of 14.68 set last season. He was also the individual champion in the long jump (6.87 meters; 22 feet 6-1/2 inches) and took third in the triple jump (13.21 meters; 43 feet; 4-1/2 inches).
Both Chamblee and Aouad ran in the finals of the 400-meter hurdles. The duo took the top-two spots, with Chamblee breaking the one-year-old meet record to win 52.86. The old record was 53.44 by Ohio Wesleyan’s Preston Osborn. Aouad was second with a time of 54.14.
Chamblee also competed on both Little Giant relay teams. He chased down Ohio Wesleyan’s anchorman in the closing stretch of the 1600-meter relay to give Wabash first place with a time of 3:17.96. Joining Chamblee in the race were Jake Zielinski, John Haley, and Garett Bonk. Austin Hodges ran with Zielinski, Haley, and Chamblee in the 100-meter relay, finishing second with a time of 42.64. Chamblee’s final All-NCAC performance came in the high jump with a third place finish, clearing 1.88 meters (6 feet, 2 inches).
Kevin McCarthy grabbed second place in the 1500-meter run, finishing in 4:01.01. Teammate Justin Allen came just short of a spot on the All-NCAC team, but added valuable team points with a fifth place finish overall (4:02.75). Allen was also fifth in the 5000-meter run (15:29.40).
Matt Knox, Evan Groninger, and Matt Scheller earned the final All-NCAC awards. Knox took second in the pole vault (4.10 meters; 13 feet, 5-1/4 inches), while Groninger was second in the javelin (53.70 meters; 176 feet, 2 inches). Scheller took third in the hammer throw with a mark of 44.64 meters (146 feet, 5 inches)
Scheller also scored for Wabash in the shot put, finishing fifth (13.73 meters; 45 feet, ½ inch). Zach Helman added points by taking seventh place (13.57 meters; 44 feet, 6-1/4 inches). Josh Sparks and Sam Glowinski were fifth and sixth, respectively in the pole vault. Both cleared 3.80 meters (12 feet, 5-1/2 inches) as their final mark, but Sparks cleared on an earlier attempt to take fifth place. Hodges ran to a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.08. Haley was sixth in the same race (11.16).
Spencer Sheridan, Zielinski, and Hodges were top-eight finishers in the 200-meter dash. Sheridan was sixth (23.22), Zielinski seventh (23.29), and Hodges eighth (23.35). Zielinski was also fifth in the javelin (47.93 meters; 157 feet, 3 inches). Bonk, Zielinski, and Sheridan were the last trio of top-eight finishers for Wabash at the meet, all grabbing spots in the 400-meter dash. Gonk finished sixth (50.77), Zielinski seventh (51.27), and Sheridan eighths (52.67).
Ben Burkett and CJ Gum were sixth and seventh, respectively in the discus. Burkett finished with a mark of 39.22 meters (128 feet, 8 inches), while Gum posted a mark of 38.83 meters (127 feet, 5 inches). Mickey Posthauer took sixth place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 15.84. Haley added an eighth-place finish in the race (16.56).
Micah Milliman, Vann Hunt, and McCarthy added the final team points for Wabash. Milliman finished sixth in the 3000-meter steeplechase (10:10.15). Hunt was seventh in the triple jump (12.86 meters; 42 feet, 2-1/4 inches), while McCarthy finished seventh in the 800-meter run (1:58.10).
