BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Relatively early on a busy day two at the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, it was Tiffin that gave the Great Midwest Athletic Conference its second individual winner in as many days.
Both of those national champions hailed from the throws cage. On Thursday, it was Findlay’s Sterling Mungro in the weight throw, and on Friday, Tiffin’s Ralph Casper capped his postseason highlights with a win in the shot put.
Casper, also the recent conference indoor meet champion from the event at Cedarville, had booked his ticket to nationals with an auto mark in the Doden Field House.
That momentum carried on to the biggest stage as the junior held off his own teammate Nikolas Curtiss (18.93m) for top honors. It was still great to see a pair of Dragons finish 1-2 in a deep field and Casper’s top mark was 19.18m (62’ 11.5”) was registered on his fifth attempt.
Casper was seeded third going into the event and Curtiss is now a four-time indoor All-American in shot put, last placing fourth at the 2019 NCAA Championships.
Tiffin was also highlighted on the awards podium with All-American honors from Quincy Scott in the long jump. He finished ninth with a distance of 7.17m.
Three of the top six women’s high jumpers in Division II hail from the Great Midwest as senior Mercedeez Francis and junior Marisa Gwinner, both from Tiffin, scored runner-up and third-place points. They each cleared 1.74m (5’ 8.5”). Not far behind was Findlay senior Brooke Mangas with a clearance of 1.71m.
Another national qualifier in the high jump was Cedarville’s Lyssi Snouffer, a true freshman who was competing in the conference volleyball tournament semifinals on Friday night. She was recorded with a DNS in the official results.
Sticking with field events, Findlay’s conference record holder Morgan England was one of six individuals to clear 4.05m (13’ 3.5”). One day after completing the grueling pentathlon, Tiffin senior Jazilee Williams placed eighth in the long jump competing individually.
Hillsdale senior Kajsa Johansson blitzed the field for the top preliminary time in the 200-meter dash. She ran in the first heat with a time of 24.13 seconds to advance to the finals. Also qualifying for the finals in shorter sprints was Findlay’s Xavier Marable in the 400-meter dash.
Another finals qualifier was Hillsdale senior distance specialist Maryssa Depies in the mile. She was eighth in the prelims with a time of 4:53.73. In the women's throws, it was Ndidiamaka Anaraodo from Walsh earning All-American honors with a fifth-place finish.