The Big Red men's outdoor track and field squad racked up 16 top-10 finishes and two event titles en route to a fifth place finish at the Wooster Invitational.
Denison first-year Chad Kosanovich (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) won the men's 1,500 meter run with a time of 4:06.50. His time landed him four seconds in front of his next closest competitor, Eric Line of Oberlin. Also posting a strong showing in the 1,500 meters was freshman Eric Shrum (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) who placed eighth with a time of 4:20.54.
In the men's javelin, junior Steve Gallego (Lyndhurst, N.J./New Canaan) was victorious after a throw of 163'2". Gallego, who is the defending North Coast Athletic Conference champion in the event, bested second-place Sean Twining of Wooster by nearly 12 feet. Gallego also posted a second-place finish in the shot put with a distance of 42'2". Sophomore Wendell Taylor (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) placed sixth with a throw of 37'5.5".
Another two-event field athlete, Cal Keating (Encino, Calif./Notre Dame), placed in the top three in both the high jump and the long jump. In the long jump, Keating was the runner-up with a jump of 20'9". The winning distance was recorded by Walsh University's Joe Morgan (22'10"). In the high jump, Keating cleared 5'10.75" to place third.
In the sprint events, Denison's Chris Roth (Milwaukee, Wis./University School) posted a fifth place finish in the 100 meter dash in 11.78 seconds. A fifth-place finish was also turned in by sophomore Pat Effinger (Pickerington, Ohio/North) in the 400 meter dash. Effinger crossed the finish line in 52.14 seconds and was the second-fastest Division III runner in the race. The men's 800 meters saw sophomores Chris Black (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) and Joe Thackery (Springboro, Ohio/Springboro) place seventh and 10th, respectively. Black posted a time of 2:01.79 and Thackery came in with a time of 2:05.00.
Denison's top performances were rounded out in the men's 5,000 meter run where four Big Red runners placed in the top-eight. Juniors Russell Holden (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Western Reserve Academy) and Daniel Dogett (Byfield, Mass./The Governors Academy) led the way by finishing third and fourth. Holden ran a time of 15:54.38 and Dogett trailed with a time of 15:57.74. Placing seventh and eighth, respectively were first-year's Steven Johnson (Xenia, Ohio/Bellbrook) and Robert Francis (Grinell, Iowa/Grinell).
The Big Red will be back in action next Saturday (April 3) when they travel to Washington, Pa. for the Washington & Jefferson Invitational.
