Owls log third-place finish at Wooster Invite

WOOSTER, Ohio -- The Kenyon College indoor track and field team got back to action Saturday, recording six top-three event finishes, scoring 75 team points, and placing third in The College of Wooster Invitational.

Wittenberg University won the six-team competition with 162.5 points and Ohio Wesleyan University took second place with 143.5 points. Falling behind Kenyon was Allegheny College in fourth place (65), Wooster in fifth (64) and Oberlin College in sixth (62).

Kenyon's most impressive result came in the 4x200-meter relay. The Owls' quartet of Emmanuel Makelele, Tapiwa Gono Phiri, Kudzaishe Mhere and Julius Thompson posted a winning time of 1:32.47, which neared the Kenyon program record of 1:32.16 set last season.

Later in the meet, Mhere, a first-year, claimed fourth place and logged five team points with a time of 7:18 in the 60-meter dash. Makelele took eighth in the 400-meter run, finishing in 54.34, just behind teammate Josh Greville, who finished in third place with a personal record time of 53.09.

In terms of scoring, Kenyon's most fruitful event was the 800-meter run, in which the team racked up a total of 17 points with four, individual scoring runs. Charlie Blackmer led the way, taking a second-place finish with a time of 2:00.50. Dylan Ryznar was fifth in 2:06.61, senior Jimmy Baker took sixth with a personal record 2:08.65, and Jackson Adams was seventh, clocking in at 2:08.74.

Other Kenyon runners scoring points on the track included seniors Owen Rodstrom and Colt Murphy. Rodstrom was runner-up in the mile, posting a time of 4:40.46, while Murphy ran in the same event and finished fourth with a time of 4:49.63. In the day's next-to-last event, the 3,000-meter run, junior Joshua Breard notched another second-place showing for Kenyon by clocking in at 9:17.24. Right behind Breard was Charlie Menzel who crossed the finish line in 9:21.88, which was good for third place.

In the final track event, Blackmer, Ryznar, Adams and Baker teamed up to run a 3:41.56 in the 4x400-meter relay. That time was good enough for sixth place.

In field events, first-year Richard Grooms had the Owls' best showing. He nailed down fourth place in the triple jump with an attempt that measured 38-2 (11.63 meters). In the long jump, it was Ezekiel Kiwanuka, who gained another Kenyon point by placing eighth with a leap that covered 20-1 3/4 (6.14 meters).

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Players Mentioned

Jimmy Baker: Junior; Mid-Distance

Joshua Breard: Junior; Distance

Tapiwa Gono Phiri: Senior; Sprints

Josh Greville: Junior; Multis

Ezekiel Kiwanuka: Junior; Jumps

Emmanuel Makelele: Senior; Sprints

Colt Murphy: Junior; Mid-Distance

Owen Rodstrom: Junior; Mid-Distance

Julius Thompson: Junior; Sprints

Jackson Adams: First-Year; Mid-Distance

Players Mentioned

Jimmy Baker
: Junior; Mid-Distance

Joshua Breard
: Junior; Distance

Tapiwa Gono Phiri
: Senior; Sprints

Josh Greville
: Junior; Multis

Ezekiel Kiwanuka
: Junior; Jumps

Emmanuel Makelele
: Senior; Sprints

Colt Murphy
: Junior; Mid-Distance

Owen Rodstrom
: Junior; Mid-Distance

Julius Thompson
: Junior; Sprints

Jackson Adams
: First-Year; Mid-Distance