HILLSDALE, Mich. – The Baldwin Wallace University men's indoor track and field teams finished third at the Hillsdale "Wide Track" Open, hosted by NCAA Division II Hillsdale (Mich.) College inside the Margot V. Biermann Athletic Center.
Competing mostly against Division II schools, BW was third of 20 teams with a total of 78 points. Tiffin University captured the team title with 172 points.
The distance group got the Yellow Jackets off to a strong start when sophomore distance runners Andrew Krupp (Ottawa Hills) and Spencer Roberts (Buffalo, N.Y./West Seneca West) swept the top two spots in the 5,000-meter championship run with a pair of career-best times. Krupp won the event in 15:58.49 while Roberts was the runner-up with a time of 16:05.42. Senior distance runner Spencer Mahon (North Royalton) also had a runner-up finish in the 3,000-meter run as he finished in a time of 9:14.61.
Junior hurdler Robby Becker (South Amherst/Firelands) posted a time of 9.06 seconds in the 60-meter hurdle preliminaries and advanced to the finals where he finished eighth overall in 9.25 seconds.
In the field, senior All-Ohio Athletic Conference thrower Zak Dysert (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry) took third in the weight throw after his longest toss traveled 60 feet, 3 inches. Sophomore jumper/sprinter Alex Dempsey (Madison) finished fifth in the long jump with a mark of 21'7.5".
On day two of competition, the BW distance runners continued their impressive showing in the 1-mile event with five of the top seven finishes. Roberts led the way in third place with a career-best time of 4:42 flat while junior Academic All-OAC distance runner Isaac Wilson (Tylersburg, Pa./North Clarion) and freshman distance runner Joe Juda (Strongsville) were not far behind. Wilson took fourth place in 4:42.22 and Juda came in fifth place with a time of 4:42.60. Just one second behind were Mahon and Krupp in sixth and seventh place in times of 4:43.11 and 4:43.14, respectively, marking a career best for Mahon.
Freshman distance runner David Prather (Hardin, Mont.) and sophomore All-OAC distance runner Josh Hickmott (Clay, N.Y./Liverpool) also brought home runner-up finishes on day two. Prather ran a career-best time of 2:01.26 in the 800-meter run and Hickmott followed it up with a time of 4:29.95 in the 1-mile championship event.
In relay action, senior Academic All-OAC sprinter Brandon Cole (Vermillion), freshman distance runner Nate Matthews (Marietta), freshman sprinter Drew Kopchak (Port Clinton) and Prather combined to finish eighth in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:38.34.
BW returns home on Friday, Feb. 8, to host the Mid-February Meet on the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse. Field events begin at 4 p.m. while the running events will begin at 5 p.m.
