By: Erin Madden
BEREA, Ohio - Led by a lot of young talent, the Baldwin Wallace University men's track and field team is ready and eager to take on the Ohio Athletic Conference in 2021.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BW will be competing in conference-only meets consisting of anywhere from three to five teams. Most meets will take place on Sundays without spectators. In addition, all meets will be scored, which is unusual for a track and field that usually has a few open meets on the schedule.
In her third season at the helm, head coach Jordan Hill '09 returns a roster of two seniors, five juniors and 12 sophomores from last year's team that finished ninth at the OAC Indoor Championships before the outdoor season was cancelled due to the pandemic. Hill also welcomes 16 new faces to the squad this season.
"The men's team is very young overall and across all event groups," Hill said. "We are looking forward to seeing what their hard work can do this year while laying the foundation for the future of the program. They are a fun group to work with and they'll bring a lot of energy to our meets. It's just great to see the right people come into our program, the type of people we are looking for. I expect to see a lot of growth from them this year."
Leading the way on the track will be sophomore hurdler ShaDaryll Clark (Brook Park/Berea-Midpark). With the OAC boasting some of the most dominant hurdlers in the country, Clark made his mark as the top freshman at last year's conference meet when he placed sixth in the 55-meter hurdle finals. He will look to climb the podium and earn All-OAC honors in his second season.
Sophomore Daniel Kishmarton (Wickliffe), sophomore Jake Robertshaw (South Park, Pa.), freshman Eli Washburn (Berea/Berea-Midpark) and freshman Kai Yee (Berea/Berea-Midpark) will line up next to Clark and hope to hurdle through to extra points for the team score.
Robertshaw will highlight the group of sprinters, particularly in the 400-meter dash where he had already managed to drop a few seconds of time between his final high school outdoor season and his first collegiate indoor season.
Freshmen Mason Birbeck (Wadsworth), Desmond Manley (Akron/St. Vincent-St. Mary) and Marcus Price (North Ridgeville) bring added talent to the sprint group and will look to have a big impact on the team in just their first collegiate season.
Sophomore Sherman Lawson (Cleveland/James Ford Rhodes), sophomore LJ Tijerina (Archbold), Clark and Kishmarton will provide some experience among a young event group while freshman Chase Berger (Clyde), Washburn and Yee hope to be stiff competition in the individual events and contribute on the relay teams.
The distance runners have the most depth and experience on the roster, led by senior Andrew Krupp (Ottawa Hills). As a junior, Krupp came on strong at the end of his cross country season and then set a couple of career-best marks during the indoor track season. He will look to continue that success into 2021. Junior David Prather (Hardin, Mont.) was just 0.02 seconds from scoring points at last year's OAC meet and hopes to move up the conference ranks, particularly in the mid-distance races. Sophomores Casey White (Mount Gilead) and Kyle White (Mount Gilead) were primed to have strong outdoor campaigns as freshmen and will look to carry over that momentum into the new season.
Freshman Aiden Yetman (Spring, Texas/Pine Oak) joins the team as the son of Peggy Fortune, BW's 10,000-meter run school record holder and a former All-American in the event. He will look to follow in his mom's footsteps and leave his own lasting impact in Berea. Freshman Carter Almady (Brunswick) also has a lot of potential despite not having a freshman cross country season to gain collegiate racing experience.
Senior Jose Reynoso (Painesville/Harvey), junior Academic All-OAC student-athlete Jeremy Coad (Dublin/Jerome), junior Joe Juda (Strongsville), junior John Komaromy-Hiller (Edgewood, Ky./Villa Madonna Academy), junior Academic All-OAC student-athlete Zach Riggins (Wexford, Pa./Pine-Richland), sophomore Nick Dascani (Toledo/Springfield), sophomore Hunter Evans (Milford/Archbishop McNicholas) and sophomore Lucas Simonetti (Pittsford, N.Y./Sutherland) bring many years of combined experience to the distance crew as they seek improved times from last season. Meanwhile, freshman Matt Perry (Mentor), freshman Matt Pettegrew (Columbia Station/Columbia), freshman Kyle Smith (West Henrietta, N.Y./Rush-Henrietta), freshman Gehrig Stanley (Twinsburg/Benedictine) and freshman Jackson Tucker (Akron/Lake Center Christian School) are eager to hit the ground running and gain valuable experience from their older teammates.
Out in the field, high jump will prove to be Yee's specialty while Clark will use his own wide range of talents to score in the long jump and triple jump. Sophomore Luke Salmon (Sandusky/Perkins) and Washburn round out the Yellow Jacket jumpers.
A new crop of athletes comprise most of the throws squad between junior Jake Mantle (North Royalton), freshman Joe Barnes (West Plains, Mo.) and freshman John Haberman (Hamburg, N.Y.). Mantle spent his first two years as a member of the BW football team and is excited to kick off his collegiate track and field career. Shot put will be his primary focus, Barnes' specialty will be during the outdoor season in the javelin throw and Haberman looks to show off his strength across a wide variety of events. Coad will also throw javelin in the outdoor season.
The Yellow Jackets will begin their schedule on Sunday, January 24, at the University of Mount Union 5-Team Meet at the Peterson Field House. BW will host tri-meets with Capital University and Otterbein University on Sunday, February 7, and Heidelberg University and John Carroll University on Sunday, February 21, both on the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse.
The OAC Indoor Championships will be hosted by Otterbein March 5-6 inside the Clements Recreation Center. The OAC has not yet released a schedule for the 2021 outdoor season.
