The Malone University men’s track & field team finished 20^th among 69 teams scoring points at the NAIA National Championships in Marion, Indiana last Thursday through Saturday while the Malone women’s team placed in a tie for 37^th among 65 teams scoring at the event.  The Pioneer men tallied 17 points as Wayland Baptist (TX) University won the men’s national title with 70 points.  The Pioneer women’s team scored six points as Azusa Pacific (CA) University took the women’s national title with 61 points.

Three individuals on the men’s squad earned All-America honors while a Malone women’s relay team also pocketed All-America accolades.

For the men, the biggest story of the national event was the All-America honor won by senior Chris Sinick (Field H.S.) in the 1500 meters.  In the final weekend of competition in his Malone career, Sinick placed third in the 1500-meter finals in a time of 3:49.94 to earn his 11^th NAIA All-America recognition (including both track and cross country) at the school.  This honor moved him into sole possession of having the most NAIA All-America awards of any student-athlete in Malone history (all sports), breaking the three-way tie of 10 honors that he had been in with 2005 Malone graduate Dave Gramlich and current junior Aaron Melhorn (Fairless H.S.), who had been ill for the final few weeks of this season.

Evan Gaynor (Jr., Delta H.S.) also earned All-America distinction by placing third in the 10,000 meters in 30:43.37 while James Zeuch (Jr., Galion H.S.) collected All-America honors as he finished fourth in the 3000-meter steeplechase in 9:08.82.

For the Malone women, the 4x800-meter relay team of Kayleigh Bildstein (Jr., Madison H.S.), Caitlin Sharp (So., East Canton H.S.), Amanda Theis (Jr., Seneca East H.S.) and Ashton Avery (So., McKinley H.S.) earned All-America accolades with an impressive third-place finish in a time of 9:03.24.

Other results for the Malone men at the national meet included Gaynor in the 5000-meter finals (10^th; 15:04.14), Paul Robinson (Sr., Field H.S.) in the 5000-meter finals (11^th; 15:08.83), Johnnie Legrair (So., Copley H.S.) in the long jump (11^th; 23’ 3.25”) and the 110-meter hurdle prelims (15.5 seconds; did not advance to semis), Jason Rook (So., New Philadelphia H.S.) in the pole vault (T13th; 15’5”), Tony Migliozzi (So., St. Thomas Aquinas H.S.) in the 10,000 meters (14^th; 32:22.12), Stephen Young (Jr., Kansas City, MO) in the triple jump (21^st; 43’ 10.5”), Jeb Ford (Sr., Minerva H.S.) in the 400 meter prelims (49.28; did not advance to finals), Garrett Oliver (Sr., Benjamin Logan H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdle prelims (55.62; did not advance to semis), Mitch Williams (Fr., Celina H.S.) in the 3000-meter steeplechase prelims (9:51.13; did not advance to finals), and the men’s 4x800-meter relay team of Bryce Pulley (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.), Williams, Billy Latta (Fr., Metuchen, NJ) and Sinick who posted a time of 7:44.94 in the prelims but did not advance to the finals.

Other results for the Pioneer women’s team included Sarah Hines (Sr., Northmor H.S.) in the 3000-meter steeplechase finals (9^th; 11:21.00), Lindsey Pifher (Jr., Colonel Crawford H.S.) in the 3000-meter steeplechase finals (14^th; 11:52.93), Lori Ickes (Jr., Smithville H.S.) in the javelin (19^th; 125’ 2”), Emily Alderfer (Sr., Urbana H.S.) in the hammer throw (28^th; 143’ 11”), Gabrielle Wuensch (Jr., New London H.S.) in the 10,000 meters (30^th; 40:03.80), Danielle Wuensch (Jr., New London H.S.) in the 10,000 meters (32^nd; 40:10.49), and Melissa Wohlheter (Fr., Tuslaw H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdle prelims (1:06.13; did not advance to semis).

The Malone University men’s and women’s track & field teams sent athletes to the non team-scoring Allegheny (PA) College Gator Invitational last Friday.

Numerous Pioneers earned top-three finishes while three athletes (two men, one woman) captured first-place finishes at the meet.  But it was one winning performance on the women’s side that was the highlight of the meet for the Pioneer squads.

For the women, Ashton Avery (So., Canton McKinley H.S.) broke a nine-year-old Malone school record in the 800 meters as she won in a time of 2:13.70 (old record was 2:14.53 by Suzie Jeren in 2001).  Other top-three finishers for the women’s team included Lori Ickes (Jr., Smithville H.S.) in the javelin (2^nd; 127’ 5”) and Melissa Wohlheter (Fr., Tuslaw H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdles (3^rd; 1:04.67).

For the men, Mitch Williams (Fr., Celina H.S.) captured first place in the 3000-meter steeplechase (9:28.05) while Evan Gaynor (Jr., Delta H.S.) took the 5000 meters (14:27.23).  Other top-three finishers for the men included Chris Sinick (Sr., Field H.S.) in the 800 meters (2^nd; 1:52.94), Johnnie Legrair  (So., Copley H.S.) in the 110-meter hurdles  (2^nd; 15:01) and James Zeuch (Jr., Galion H.S.) in the 1500 meters (3^rd; 3:52.30).

The Malone University men’s track & field team captured the team title at the NCCAA National Championships in Upland, Indiana (hosted by Taylor University) last Thursday through Saturday while the Pioneer women’s team finished as the national runner-up.

The Malone men tallied 170.5 points, among a 16-team field, to defeat runner-up Bethel  (IN) College, which posted 162.5 points, by eight points.  Cedarville University took third (109), Taylor was fourth (93) and Greenville (IL) College rounded out the top five (66.5).  In addition, Malone was awarded the Men’s Coaching Staff of the Year award at the meet.

The Pioneer women racked up 153 points, among a 16-team field, for their runner-up finish as Bethel won the women’s national title with 191.5 points.  King (TN) College took third (91), Greenville was fourth (78) and Cedarville rounded out the top five (70).

Numerous athletes from both Malone teams earned NCCAA All-America status (top three in an event) and the Pioneers also had several athletes capture individual national title honors.

For the men’s team, five athletes earned individual national titles while the men’s 4x800 meter relay team also took first place.  Individual national champions for the men included Chris Sinick (Sr., Field H.S.) in the 1500 meters (3:59.06), Paul Robinson (Sr., Field H.S.) in the 5000 meters (15:06.92), James Zeuch (Jr., Galion H.S.) in the 3000-meter steeplechase (9:20.10), Jason Rook (So., New Philadelphia H.S.) in the pole vault (15’ 9”)and Kyle Wagner (Fr., Green H.S.) in the decathlon (5884 points).  The men’s 4x800-meter relay team of Mitch Williams (Fr., Celina H.S.), William Latta (Fr., Metuchen, NJ), Bryce Pulley (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) and Sinick finished first in a time of 7:44.66.

For the women,  three athletes claimed individual national crowns as Sarah Hines (Sr., Northmor H.S.) won the 10,000 meters (38:32.31), Lori Ickes took the javelin (128’ 5”) and Beth Costello (Jr., Canton South H.S.) captured the heptathlon (4111 points).

Other NCCAA All-Americans (top three finishers) for the Pioneer men’s team included Jeb Ford (Sr., Minerva H.S.) in the 400 meters (2^nd; 48.41), Sinick in the 800 meters (3^rd; 1:56.45), Pulley in the 1500 meters (3^rd; 4:02.88), Evan Gaynor (Jr., Delta H.S.) in the 5000 meters (2^nd; 15:07.10) and the 10,000 meters (2^nd; 31:27.91), Williams in the 3000-meter steeplechase (3^rd; 9:36.40), Anthony Lombardi (Fr., Tuslaw H.S.) in the high jump (2^nd; 6’ 6.75”), Johnnie Legrair (So., Copley H.S.) in the long jump (3^rd; 23’ 7.25”), Steven Young (Jr., Gladstone, MO) in the triple jump (3^rd; 46’ 1.50”), Tom Reed (So., Troy H.S.) in the shot put (3^rd; 47’ 5”) and Shane McLaughlin (Jr., Caldwell H.S.) in the decathlon (3^rd; 5035 points).

For the women, other NCCAA All-Americans included Melissa Wohlheter (Fr., Tuslaw H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdles (3^rd; 1:05.06), Gabrielle Wuensch (Jr., New London H.S.) in the 5000 meters (3^rd; 18:15.28), Kristen Downing (Jr., Lake H.S.) in the 10,000 meters (2^nd; 39:35.85), Danielle Wuensch (Jr., New London H.S.) in the 10,000 meters (3^rd; 39:47.15), Lindsey Pifher (Jr., Colonel Crawford H.S.) in the 3000-meter steeplechase (2^nd; 11:07.30), Ickes in the discus (2^nd; 125’ 5”) and the heptathlon (2^nd; 4110 points) and Molly Hanzie (Fr., Norwayne H.S.) in the javelin (2^nd; 122’ 2”).  In addition, the women’s 4x400-meter relay unit of Amanda Theis (Jr., Seneca East H.S.), Ashton Avery (So., Canton McKinley H.S.), Kayleigh Bildstein (Jr., Madison H.S.) and Wohlheter placed third in a time of 4:03.11 while the women’s 4x800-meter relay squad of Avery, Caitlin Sharp (So., East Canton H.S.), Becky Neitzel (So., Malvern H.S.) an Bildstein finished second in 9:23.36.

The Malone University men’s and women’s track & field teams competed at two different meets this past weekend, at the Hillsdale (MI) College Invitational on Friday and at the Ashland University Alumni Meet on Saturday. 

At the Hillsdale event on Friday, the Malone distance runners competed and all competitors posted NAIA auto qualifying marks.   For the women, Sarah Hines (Sr., Northmor H.S.) finished ninth (among 33 runners) in the 3000-meter steeplechase invite in a time of 11:04.25 while Lindsey Pifher (Jr., Colonel Crawford H.S.) finished 13^th in a time of 11:12.00.

For the Malone men at the Hillsdale meet, Evan Gaynor (Jr., Delta H.S.) finished an impressive second among a 57-member field in the 10,000-meter invite in a time of 29:53.75.  In the 3000-meter steeplechase, James Zeuch (Jr., Galion H.S.) placed fifth among 48 runners in 9:09.76 while Aaron Melhorn (Jr., Fairless H.S.) was close behind in eighth at 9:15.82.  Chris Sinick (Sr., Field H.S.) finished in sixth place in the 1500 meters in 3:50.27 while Paul Robinson (Sr., Field H.S.) took 11^th in the 5000-meter invite in 14:41.09.

At the Ashland Alumni meet, the Malone teams had one individual winner for both the men’s and women’s teams.  Lori Ickes (Jr., Smithville H.S.) was the women’s event winner as she captured the javelin with a toss of 123’ 11”.  Mitch Williams (Fr., Celina H.S.) posted the men’s sole first-place finish as he won the 3000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:38.38.

Both Malone teams posted numerous other “top six” finishes in events on the day led by Johnny’s Legrair’s (So., Copley H.S.) second-place finish in the long jump (22’ 7.25”), the lone second-place finish for either Malone team on the day.

“Top-six” finishers for the Malone women included Kayleigh Bildstein (Jr., Madison H.S.) in the 800 meters (3^rd; 2:15.55), Amanda Theis (Jr., Seneca East H.S.) in the 800 meters (6^th; 2:16.76), Melissa Wohlheter (Fr., Tuslaw H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdles (5^th; 1:05.57), Gabrielle Wuensch (Jr., New London H.S.) in the 5000 meters (5^th; 18:29.81), Tynae Wilson (So., Fort Wayne, IN) in the 5000 meters (6^th; 18:31.29) and Molly Hanzie (Fr., Norwayne H.S.) in the javelin (6^th; 113’ 1”).  In addition, the women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Theis, Ashton Avery (So., Canton McKinley H.S.), Bildstein and Wohlheter finished fifth in a time of 4:09.16.

For the men, “top-six” finishers included Bryce Pulley (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) in the 1500 meters (5^th; 4:05.41), Legrair in the 110-meter hurdles (6^th; 14.98), Garrett Oliver (Sr., Benjamin Logan H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdles (personal best; 6^th; 54.53), Nate Slaughter (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) in the 5000 meters (5^th; 15:31.53) and Mtume Msikizi-Jackson (Fr., Keaau, HI) in the triple jump (3^rd; 42’ 7.5”).  In addition, the men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Oliver, Daniel Bridenstine (Fr., Jackson H.S.), William Latta (Fr., Metuchen, NJ) and Kyle Wagner (Fr., Green H.S.) finished fifth in a time of 3:25.22.

The Malone University men’s and women’s track & field teams competed at two different meets this past weekend, at the Hillsdale (MI) College Invitational on Friday and at the Ashland University Alumni Meet on Saturday. 

At the Hillsdale event on Friday, the Malone distance runners competed and all competitors posted NAIA auto qualifying marks.   For the women, Sarah Hines (Sr., Northmor H.S.) finished ninth (among 33 runners) in the 3000-meter steeplechase invite in a time of 11:04.25 while Lindsey Pifher (Jr., Colonel Crawford H.S.) finished 13^th in a time of 11:12.00.

For the Malone men at the Hillsdale meet, Evan Gaynor (Jr., Delta H.S.) finished an impressive second among a 57-member field in the 10,000-meter invite in a time of 29:53.75.  In the 3000-meter steeplechase, James Zeuch (Jr., Galion H.S.) placed fifth among 48 runners in 9:09.76 while Aaron Melhorn (Jr., Fairless H.S.) was close behind in eighth at 9:15.82.  Chris Sinick (Sr., Field H.S.) finished in sixth place in the 1500 meters in 3:50.27 while Paul Robinson (Sr., Field H.S.) took 11^th in the 5000-meter invite in 14:41.09.

At the Ashland Alumni meet, the Malone teams had one individual winner for both the men’s and women’s teams.  Lori Ickes (Jr., Smithville H.S.) was the women’s event winner as she captured the javelin with a toss of 123’ 11”.  Mitch Williams (Fr., Celina H.S.) posted the men’s sole first-place finish as he won the 3000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:38.38.

Both Malone teams posted numerous other “top six” finishes in events on the day led by Johnny’s Legrair’s (So., Copley H.S.) second-place finish in the long jump (22’ 7.25”), the lone second-place finish for either Malone team on the day.

“Top-six” finishers for the Malone women included Kayleigh Bildstein (Jr., Madison H.S.) in the 800 meters (3^rd; 2:15.55), Amanda Theis (Jr., Seneca East H.S.) in the 800 meters (6^th; 2:16.76), Melissa Wohlheter (Fr., Tuslaw H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdles (5^th; 1:05.57), Gabrielle Wuensch (Jr., New London H.S.) in the 5000 meters (5^th; 18:29.81), Tynae Wilson (So., Fort Wayne, IN) in the 5000 meters (6^th; 18:31.29) and Molly Hanzie (Fr., Norwayne H.S.) in the javelin (6^th; 113’ 1”).  In addition, the women’s 4x400-meter relay team of Theis, Ashton Avery (So., Canton McKinley H.S.), Bildstein and Wohlheter finished fifth in a time of 4:09.16.

For the men, “top-six” finishers included Bryce Pulley (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) in the 1500 meters (5^th; 4:05.41), Legrair in the 110-meter hurdles (6^th; 14.98), Garrett Oliver (Sr., Benjamin Logan H.S.) in the 400-meter hurdles (personal best; 6^th; 54.53), Nate Slaughter (Fr., Cuyahoga Falls H.S.) in the 5000 meters (5^th; 15:31.53) and Mtume Msikizi-Jackson (Fr., Keaau, HI) in the triple jump (3^rd; 42’ 7.5”).  In addition, the men’s 4x400-meter relay team of Oliver, Daniel Bridenstine (Fr., Jackson H.S.), William Latta (Fr., Metuchen, NJ) and Kyle Wagner (Fr., Green H.S.) finished fifth in a time of 3:25.22.