At the North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships at Denison University this past Saturday, both men's and women's track teams finished in sixth place.
The women's team recorded one individual championship, as junior Celia Kauth won the high jump with 1.58 meters. In late February, Kauth won the high jump at the DePauw Classic where the team finished fifth of seventeen teams. This time around, on a bigger stage, Kauth proved herself again. She was the only women's Tiger to finish in first place.
Men's standout Amen Galley won the long jump event, recording 6.86 meters in his final jump. Galley, a sophomore, is one of few brave DePauw athletes to compete in two sports. Last Fall, Galley was featured as one of football coach Bill Lynch's premiere running backs. Over nine games played for Tigers football, Galley averaged 20.8 yards per game, behind seniors Nikko Sansone and Armani Cato. Galley's football experience helped spur a successful 2014 track & field season.
"Being able to play football in the fall allows me to stay in shape throughout the year," said Galley. "This becomes useful when our track team starts practicing during Winter Term. It helps me stay mentally focused and keep my competitive edge."
Galley was joined on the first-place podium by senior Kyle Mackey. Mackey cleared 14-11 in the pole vault, earning a first place tie. Since it was his last indoor meet as a college athlete, the victory tasted a little sweeter for Mackey.
"It means a lot," Mackey said. "It was a definite goal of mine to win, even though I was not seated number one winning for the last time indoors only boosts my drive for outdoors. I proved to myself it's possible, now all that's left is seven weeks of hard work to do it again."
Though Kauth, Mackey and Galley were the only Tigers to take home first-place individually, there were more strong performances. Senior women's Tiger Jillian Balser, one of the team's most dominant performers, broke her own pole vault record for the third time this season, recording 3.4 meters at the event. Balser, in 2010, finished second in this weekend's women pole vault, missing first place to Ohio Wesleyan's Sarah Bechtel by .16 of a meter. Freshman Meghan Burke showed her versatility, having top five finishes in the three meets she competed in. In the triple jump, Burke came in second-place, recording a 10.66-meter jump.
"We have been working hard all year, and the focus we have had since the beginning has been a big factor as to why so many athletes have broken records," said Burke.
Burke and the rest of the Tigers squad are gearing up for the upcoming Rose-Hulman Early Bird meet in Terre Haute, Ind. Both the men and women are set to start the competition at noon on Saturday, March 22.