The 2014 DePauw University Tigers’ Track and Field season got off to a great start, with the Tigers winning the Tiger Small College Indoor Track and Field Invitational. The Tigers finished the Invitational with 134 points. The runner up, Franklin College, scored 120 points, while Spalding University came in third with 63 points.
 The Tigers were led by sophomore transfer Paul Watts, who won the mile long run. Watts finished the race in just over four minutes and 34 seconds. Junior Jack Leibovitz netted first place in the high jump, recording 1.68 meters. The Indianapolis native showed his athletic versatility, placing second in the 60-meter hurdles, third in long jumps, an fourth in the 200 meters. Of the Tigers’ 134 total points, Leibovitz was responsible for 28.
 One of the biggest surprises for the Tigers was the instant contribution of the first-year students on the roster. Brad Wise, a Fort Wayne Snyder (Ft. Wayne, Ind.) alum, finished the 3,000 – meter run in third place, finishing with a time of 9:28.93 in his first collegiate invitational. Junior Noah Gatwood finished in 9:14.94, enough to earn him second place.
 “We had a number of great performances this weekend, but we mostly got a good look at where we stand with each other and some of our competitors,” Gatwood said. “With conference only a month away, I think this weekend got us excited and focused to work hard and improve.”
 The North Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field championships Gatwood alluded to is set to take place on Saturay, March 8, at Denison University.
 First year Justin Barnes finished in second place in the 400-meter run, finishing up in only 56.53 seconds. Barnes, who attended Shady Side Academy (Pittsburgh), made an early statement as one of the future stars of the Tigers’ track and field program. Barnes also had good things to say about the performance.
 “We had a track meet against small colleges: Franklin, Spalding, Rend Lake, Union and Kentucky Wesleyan”, said Barnes. “I think the team looked really good for the first meet. Being a first year, I was overwhelmed with both excitement and pride at being a part of such a united and driven team. The team, myself especially, has a lot of work still to be done and lots of room for improvement, but Friday was a good start to a hopefully great season.” 
On the women’s side, the freshmen Tigers were equally impressive, winning six events for 174 total points. The star of the weekend was Jillian Balser, who broke her own school record in the pole vault. Her 10-feet 6-inches (3.2m) score beat her own record by an entire two inches.
 First-year and Erlanger, Ken. native Meghan Burke also shone this weekend, winning the 60-meter hurtle in 9.87 seconds and the triple jump with 10.02 meters.
“The entire track team has been working hard to get to this point, so it was great to finally see everyone come together and put in their best efforts at the meet,” said Burke. “It was just icing on the cake that we came out victorious.”
  Another Class of 2017 member, Tiernan Shank, finished in second place at the 400-meter dash with a time of 1.02.72.
 With both men and women winning their Invitational and the contributions from the newest players on the roster, things are looking up for the Tigers for the 2014 season and beyond.