Final Results
Photo Gallery
FINDLAY, Ohio – First-year league member Tiffin flexed its muscle on the track, in the cage and in the pits, to capture the men’s title in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships that ended Saturday.
The Dragons were the clear-cut winner in the team scoring with 183 points through 17 points scored. Meet host Findlay was the team runner-up with multiple champions rising to the podium and 119 points.
It may have been a predictable outcome given the Dragons’ tradition and pedigree as back-to-back national champs with a top-five ranking in the USTFCCCA Ratings Index, but competition was fierce in every event nonetheless.
Tiffin’s depth was on full display with a talented roster from head coach Jeremy Croy and his staff to win its first Great Midwest meet in the program’s first attempt. The feeling of victory was doubled as the TU women’s program also finished on top of the scoring.
Chants of TU!…TF!... resonated throughout the Malcolm Athletic Center as the Dragons’ flag wove proudly during the team’s victory lap after receiving the trophy and celebrating at the awards podium.
Jonte Baker broke the 60-meter dash meet record with a 6.77 in the finals while teammate Quincy Scott, a freshman, broke the meet and overall league long jump record on Friday. Cameron Burrows shattered the high jump meet record and the Dragons’ throws unit of Nikolas Curtiss and Jabari Bennett would have won many other conference meets if it wasn’t for UF’s Eldred Henry.
Other meet records broken included Tellis Horne (Malone) in the 200, Ryan Thomsen (Hillsdale) in the heptathlon and Joseph Humes (Hillsdale) in the mile. Cedarville's Tommy Ansiel and Hillsdale's Ben Raffin both cleared 4.93m to tie pole vault championship meet record.
Individual awards presented to three different student-athletes were voted upon by the coaches at the conclusion of the meet.
The Great Midwest Track Athlete of the Meet was awarded to Hillsdale junior distance runner Joseph Humes, winner of the 3K and mile run.
Humes, a star during the cross country season, set a new conference meet record in the mile with a time of 4:15.02. He edged out teammate Mark Miller by less than a second crossing the finish line.
It was an even closer finish between Humes and Malone’s George McCartney in the 3K as the two friendly adversaries battled down the stretch. Humes won with a time of 8:31.65 over the accomplished senior Pioneer.
Findlay’s Xavier Marable put on a show with a victory in the 400-meter dash with a meet record in the prelims and an impressive showcase in the finals with a winning time of 47.86.
Marable then finished sandwiched in between two of the best in the nation in the 200. Tellis Horne (Malone), Marable and Jonte Baker (Tiffin), finished 22.13, 22.14 and 22.15, in order in an exciting final.
A unanimous decision for Great Midwest Field Athlete of the Meet honors went to Findlay’s Eldred Henry, who etched his name into permanent Division II history in the shot put event.
With an attempt that had the crowd speechless at 20.61m (67’ 7.5”) Henry blew away the previous Division II record held by Christopher Reed of Minnesota State, who threw 20.07m in 2014.
Henry is currently ranked 18th in the world with his conference championship feat. He was already ranked tops in Division II as an auto qualifier.
Great Midwest student-athletes have hit plenty of auto and provisional marks throughout the year. The next step will be waiting for the championship qualifying field announced by the NCAA Committee for the DII Championships in Pittsburg, Kan.