Posted: Mar 27, 2021
*Story by David Wahl III
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Wilmington men's track and field team had strong performances across the board on a pristine day for competition at Memorial Stadium. As the day got hotter, the Quaker's performances heated up as well. They finished third place as a team, narrowly missing second, four points behind hosts Otterbein who finished behind the "April Fools Invitational" winner Ohio Northern.
The men racked up multiple victories as well as a list of top five finishes on the day. Running alone ahead of the pack, Ryan Honkomp secured the victory in the 5,000-meter run covering ground in 16:16.78. Austin Wampler, also in the race, took second place after breaking away from the group late in the race.
Evan Whitaker came away with the win in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:01.10) after no other competitor could chase him down. Shortly after, the Quakers sent Max Queen, Anthony Gilmore, David Wahl and Calvin Walls to the line in the 4x100 where they took second.
The team had two top five finishes in the 800-meter run by freshman duo Aidan Henson (second) and Eric Reynolds (fifth). Simon Heys ran in a hot heat in the 1,500-meter run and placed fourth. The 4-x-400 squad of Henson, Gilmore, David Wahl and Reynolds ran a season best and took third place in a race that was neck and neck down to the wire (3:35.05).
The final win of the day for the squad was earned through a 49' 1.9" triple jump by Queen, also earning second in long jump. Gilmore took second in high jump.
The throw squad had great performances throughout the day with multiple athletes scoring in multiple events. In discus, Blake Jamison threw himself into second place with a glide of 141' 5.2" while Nate Marcum came in fifth. Freshman, Chas O'Connell, placed third in the javelin throw in his first ever attempt at the event (113' 11.3"). The trio of Joe Shuga (second), Marcum (third) and Andrew Pacifico (sixth) all scored in the hammer throw, while Jamison and Shuga doubled up and scored in shot put as well.
Wilmington returns to action next weekend in Ada, Ohio, traveling to the home of Ohio Northern University for more Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action.
