1st of 9 at NCAC championship

May 1-2, 2009

Senior Preston Osborn (Edgerton) won an event and took part in a pair of record-setting performances to help Ohio Wesleyan win the North Coast Athletic Conference championship at the NCAC championship meet, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan on Friday at Selby Field and the George Gauthier Track.

Ohio Wesleyan won the meet with 226 points to 129 1/2 for runner-up Allegheny. Wabash finished in third place with 122 1/2 points, followed by Oberlin (113 1/2), Wooster and Denison (58), Wittenberg (51 1/2), Earlham (46), and Kenyon (13).

The conference title was Ohio Wesleyan's second straight outdoor crown, and the Battling Bishops' fourth NCAC track & field title in a row, counting both indoor and outdoor seasons.

Osborn was named Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year. He won the 400-meter hurdles in :53.44, breaking the conference record of :53.68 set by Matt Medford of Case Western Reserve University in 1991. The 400-meter title was the second in a row for Osborn. He is pictured at right with Dennis Collins, executive director of the NCAC, and Rock Jones, president of Ohio Wesleyan University.

Osborn also teamed with sophomore Sean Patrick (Delaware/Hayes), senior Ryan Ellis (Columbus/Dublin Scioto), and senior Nathan Osborn (Edgerton) to win the 1600-meter relay in a time of 3:16.99, breaking the conference record of 3:18.54 set in 1986 by Denison, the oldest mark in the conference record books.

Senior Andrew Bloom (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne) and junior David Burke (Hudson) also successfully defended NCAC championships. Bloom won his third straight decathlon crown at the multi-event portion of the meet. He also won All-NCAC laurels with a second in the javelin and added a fourth in the 110-meter hurdles and an eighth in the pole vault.

Burke took his second straight title in the long jump, winning the event with a leap of 22-4 1/2. Burke also finished second in the triple jump and the high jump.

Also winning NCAC championships were junior Steve Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford), who won the 110-meter hurdles in :14.84 and added a fourth in the 200-meter dash; and Patrick, who won the 200-meter dash in :22.34 and finished fifth in the 100-meter dash.

All-NCAC honors also went to junior Kyle Faris (Olmsted Falls), who finished second in the hammer, fourth in the discus, and fifth in the shot put; senior Jon Smith (Clyde/Bellevue), who finished second in the pole vault; sophomore Jordon Exeter (Toronto, Ontario/Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy), who was second in the 100-meter dash; Nathan Osborn, who placed third in the 200-meter dash and fifth in the 400-meter dash; junior Will Alford (Maple Heights), who finished third in the 100-meter dash; senior Garret Andre-Johnson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Berkeley), who was third in the 800-meter run; and senior David Stefanik (Wooster), who was third in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

The Bishop 400-meter relay team of Brown, Exeter, Nathan Osborn, and Patrick also won all-conference honors, finishing second.

Other standouts for the Bishops included senior Alex Havran (Woodinville, Wash./Overlake), who placed fourth in the javelin; freshman Sharif Kronemer (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook), who was fourth in the 800-meter run; junior Bryce Mathias (Centerburg), who placed fourth in the 400-meter hurdles; freshman Jon Rux (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View), who was fourth in the hammer; freshman A.J. Sayed (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte), who finished fifth in the triple jump and sixth in the long jump; freshman Evan Hitchcock (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), who placed fifth in the 10,000-meter run and seventh in the 5000-meter run; Ellis, who finished sixth in the 400-meter dash and eighth in the 200-meter dash; freshman David Franklin (Reynoldsburg), who was sixth in the 110-meter hurdles; sophomore Kyle Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls), who placed sixth in the 800-meter run; senior Brandon Hunter (Twinsburg), who was seventh in the javelin; freshman Matt Haines (Downingtown, Pa./Delaware County Christian), who finished seventh in the 200-meter dash; freshman Kale Booher (Covington/Newton), who was seventh in the 1500-meter run; freshman Kyle Lemke (Loudonville), who was eighth in the 800-meter run; and freshman Chris Ziska (Berea), who placed eighth in the discus.

Sprinter/Hurdler
of the Year
Preston Osborn, Ohio Wesleyan

Middle Distance/Distance Runner of the Year
Tony Dipre, Allegheny

Field Event Performer
of the Year
Chris Shaw, Earlham

Coach of the Year
Kris Boey, Ohio Wesleyan

Final Results