In their first ever indoor conference championship, both men's and women's DePauw track and field squads finished fourth at this weekend's North Coast Athletic Conference championships at Wabash College.
Both teams narrowly missed third place finishes, with the men just 10 points behind Allegheny and the women only four behind Kenyon. Wabash and Ohio Wesleyan University were the men's and women's champions with 238 and 192 points, respectively.
Sophomore Kyle Mackey continued what has been a high-placing season, finishing first in the pole vault with a jump of 4.57 meters (15 feet). Mackey was the lone Tiger to take a top spot for either team.
Mackey has now placed in the top three of every meet he has competed in this indoor season, including three first place finishes. Head coach Kori Stoffregen attributes Mackey's success to his tremendous work ethic.
"Is it a surprise that Kyle is doing this? No, absolutely not," Stoffregen said. "He's the first guy to practice and the last one to leave. I see him most mornings in the weight room when I'm coming into work. He works harder than anyone on the team, he's more focused than anybody on the team and he's making all the vaulters around him better. He's just been a star for us. I'm very proud of him."
The men, who were seeded to finish sixth at the meet, had two all-conference finishers, Mackey and junior Noah Droddy. Droddy placed third in the 3,000-meter run. Other highlights include a fourth place finish from freshman Steven Rutherford in the 60 meter dash, a fifth place finish from senior Tyler Giesting in the 800 meter run and two more fifth place finishes from the 4x200 and 4x400 meter relay squads.
The girls, who had no top finishers, did manage to score from a variety of positions. The team also was able to place higher than predicted with their fourth place finish. They were expected to finish seventh before the meet.
"(The meet) was great motivation for us," senior captain Sam Wong said. "We know we have a lot more work to do, but a lot of us can see now that we're not that far off from getting able to get second place at outdoor (NCAC championships). I mean, we we're only a few points off of third."
Wong, along with senior Chenae White and junior Chelsea Courtney were the three athletes from the women's team to earn individual third place finishes. Wong placed third in the triple-jump, White in the 60-meter dash and Courtney in the high jump. The Tiger's 4x200 meter relay team also finished third and the distance medley relay team earned the highest spot for the women's team with a second place finish.
Stoffregen was pleased with the performances from both of his squads. Stoffregen, who had never been a part of an indoor championship, saw his team make large strides as the 2012 indoor season comes to a close.
"To exceed of what we were expected to do made (the meet) really exciting," Stoffregen said. "We really overachieved a little bit. You know, coming into our first-ever indoor conference meet, on paper we weren't expected to score many points and for us (to finish fourth on both sides), I think the conference is now very aware that DePauw track and field is a great program and very competitive. We've got a lot of room to grow and we are excited for the future."
The Tigers now have a considerable break before the outdoor season begins, but can take much away from a jam-packed indoor season that had them competing early and often. Traditionally, because of gap winter term creates during the start of the season and the lack of a conference championship, the indoor season has served as more of a buffer period for the track and field teams. The teams now enter what has in the past been their stronger half of the season with extra experience for two young squads.
"It's especially important for the freshman," Mackey said. "They need these big meets as an opportunity to prove themselves, more so than the older guys. This is just a big stepping stone for them to gauge where they are and see their competition."
Both Tiger teams will begin the 2012 outdoor season the first Saturday of spring break with the Rose-Hulman Early Bird meet.
