1st of 9 at NCAC championship

March 5-6, 2010

Senior David Burke (Hudson) and freshman Jake Eldridge (London) won Athlete of the Meet honors in leading Ohio Wesleyan to the North Coast Athletic Conference title at the NCAC championship meet on Friday and Saturday in Granville.

Ohio Wesleyan won the meet with 165 points to 141 for Wabash. Allegheny finished third with 83 points, followed by Oberlin (79), Wittenberg (66 1/2), Denison (44), Earlham (32), Wooster (30), and Kenyon (21 1/2).

The conference championship is the third straight for the Bishops, following outright titles in 2008 and 2009.

Burke was named Field Event Performer of the Year. He won the triple jump with an effort of 46-10 3/4, surpassing the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Division III championship meet to be held March 12-13 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Burke also won all-conference honors with a third-place finish in the pentathlon and added fourth-place finishes in the high jump and the long jump.

Eldridge was named Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year. He won the 55-meter dash in a time of :06.57 and finished fourth in the 200-meter dash.

Eldridge also led off both of Ohio Wesleyan's first-place 800- and 1600-meter relay teams, combining with junior Sean Patrick (Delaware/Hayes), freshman Silas Jolliff (Cardington/Cardington-Lincoln), and freshman Stephen Haynes (Crestview, Fla./Niceville) to win the 800-meter relay in 1:30.29 and teaming with senior Bryce Mathias (Centerburg), freshman Matt Martin (New Brighton, Pa./Riverside), and Jolliff to win the 1600-meter relay in 3:23.09.

Jolliff and senior Steve Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford) also won NCAC championships.

Jolliff won the 200-meter dash in a time of :22.51. Brown won the 55-meter hurdles in :07.65, surpassing the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Division III championship meet to be held March 12-13 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Senior Kyle Faris (Olmsted Falls) won All-NCAC honors with a second-place finish in the shot put. His throw of 51-9 1/4 surpassed the provisional qualifying standard for the NCAA Division III championship meet to be held March 12-13 at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Also winning All-NCAC laurels were Haynes, who placed third in the 55-meter dash and added a sixth in the long jump and an eighth in the high jump; Martin, who finished third in the 400-meter dash and sixth in the 200-meter dash; sophomore Evan Hitchcock (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), who placed third in the 5000-meter run and added a fourth in the 3000-meter run; sophomore David Franklin (Reynoldsburg), who placed third in the 55-meter hurdles; and the distance medley relay team of sophomore John Batchelder (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne), junior Kody Law (Reynoldsburg), senior Matthew MacKenzie (Franklin, Mass.), and sophomore Kale Booher (Covington/Newton), which placed second.

Other standouts for the Bishops included freshman Zach Ross (Evanston, Ill./Oak Park & River Forest), who was fourth in the pole vault; senior Will Alford (Maple Heights), who finished fourth in the 55-meter dash; freshman Shane Brandt (Painesville/Riverside), who was fifth in the 3000- and 5000-meter runs; junior Kyle Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls), who was fifth in the 800-meter run; sophomore Sharif Kronemer (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook), who finished sixth in the 800-meter run; junior Jeff Driscoll (Shreve/Triway), who was seventh in the pentathlon; freshman Jeff Farkas (New Waterford/East Palestine), who placed seventh in the 55-meter hurdles; Patrick, who placed eighth in the 200- and 400-meter dashes; and Booher, who was eighth in the mile run.

Complete Results