Wabash Takes First-Day Lead

The Little Giant indoor track and field used two first-place finishes Friday evening to take an early lead at the 2011 North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Track and Field Championships held at Oberlin College in Ohio.

Senior Matt Scheller broke his own school record with his winning mark in the shot put. Scheller (left) claimed all-conference honors with a mark of 15.10 meters (49 feet, 6.50 inches). Freshman Joel Beier also earned all-conference honors with a third-place finish with his mark of 14.26 meters (46 feet, 9.5 inches). Brad Pusateri added sixth-place points with his mark of 14.06 meters (46 feet, 1.5 inches).

Senior Seth Einterz won the 5000-meter run with his best time of the season, crossing the finish line in 14:55.25 to earn All-NCAC honors for the first time in that event. Brian David finished seventh in the race with a time of 15:38.29.

Vann Hunt took fifth place in the triple jump with a leap of 12.92 meters (42 feet, 4.5 inches). Chase Belton was seventh overall (12.06 meters; 39 feet, 6.75 inches). 

Wabash has set the table for a solid effort in the final day of competition on Saturday with several athletes qualifying in the Friday night preliminary heats. 

John Haley and Patrick Posthauer each won their heats of the 55-meter hurdles. Haley posted the fastest time of the prelims at 8.01, his quickest time of the season. Posthauer won his meet with a time of 8.09. Billy Rosson and John Bogucki will also join the field of nine runners competing in Saturday's finals. Rosson posted the fifth-quickest time in the prelims (8.12), while Bogucki was sixth-fastest among the competitors (8.19).

Haley (right) also qualified for the finals of the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.12, finishing fifth in the preliminary rounds. He will also compete in the finals of the 200-meter dash after finishing fifth overall with a time of 22.96 in the prelims. Sean Hildebrand will also run in the finals of the 200 after qualifying with a time of 23.01.

Hildebrand won his heat of the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.67 to advance to the finals. Charles Smothers also won his heat with a time of 6.69 to move into Saturday's race. Hunt will join his two teammates after posting a qualifying time of 6.72.

Kevin McCarthy ran the fastest time in the qualifying heats of the 800-meter run, winning his heat with a time of 1:55.57. Jake Waterman also won his heat with the third-quickest time of the night at 1:57.56. Donavan White will also compete in the finals after running a time of 1:58.09 in the prelims to post the sixth-quickest time of the evening.

Wabash scored a total of 49 points in the first round of competition to take the early team lead. Ohio Wesleyan is second with 38 points, while Oberlin is third with 29 points. Allegheny (19), Denison (7), Wooster (6), Wittenberg (5), and Kenyon (3) complete the team scoring.

The NCAC Championship meet will conclude Saturday afternoon.