SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Denison men's track & field tallied five, top-10 finishes on Saturday as they took part in the 2020 Steemer Showcase hosted at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.
Securing three of their top-10's in the field events, the Big Red were highlighted by senior Bryce Stricker who led DU's efforts in the weight throw and the shot put. In the weight throw, Stricker, placed second overall with a maximum throw of 53'3.50" (16.24 meters) while fellow senior Austin McManus took 22nd overall at 41'2.50" (12.56 meters) and first-year Gabe Springer landed in 34th with a toss of 34'10.50". Stricker followed with an eighth-place performance in the shot put where he reached a final mark of 46'11.50" (14.31 meters). Senior Jordan Lobel made his DU track & field debut with a first-time effort of 35'7.75" (10.86 meters) to finish 26th overall while McManus took 32nd (33'1.25") and Springer finished 35th (29'6.50").
In the long jump, freshman Angelo Ricci earned a sixth-place finish after landing a leap of 21'0.50" (6.41 meters). Kyle Hou followed in 17th at 19'4.75" and Wayne Chen took 18th (19'4"). Ricci and Hou also competed in the 200-meter dash where they clocked in at 23.84 and 23.66, respectively.
On the track, freshman Charlie Webb continued his stellar season in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles where he checked in with a new school-record time of 8.60. This is the second time during the 2019-20 season that Webb has reset his own school record. He also joined Lance Tobasky, Benjamin Rumsfeld, and Jack Ruddy in the 4X400 meter relay to place fourth overall at 3:31.33.
Senior Ben Foster set a new personal record in the 1-mile race after crossing the finish line at 4:23.05 for a 10th place finish. Sophomore Keanan Ginell also earned a top-25 finish with 25th place at 4:33.30. Continuing Denison's distance efforts, Rhys Fitschen-Brown placed 28th in the 3,000-meter run with a final time of 9:15.45 while Clayton Watters took 36th at 9:44.09. In the 800-meter run, Rumsfeld clocked in at 2:01.97 (26th) and Zackary Johnston finished in 2:04.69 (38th).
In the 400-meter dash, Ruddy led the DU pack in 17th place with a final time of 52.46.
Denison senior James Dixie also competed for the Big Red on Saturday as he took part in day one of the 2020 NCAC Indoor Track & Field Combined Events Championships held at Oberlin College. Through the first four events of the heptathlon, Dixie currently sits in fifth place with a total of 2,381 points. Ending the day with a pair of top-five finishes, Dixie's best showing came in the long jump event where he placed second overall at 20'9" (6.32 meters). He also took fifth overall in the shot put with a throw of 33'6.75" (10.23 meters). In the high jump, Dixie placed sixth overall with a mark of 5'7" (1.70 meters). He also finished in seventh place in the 60-meter dash at 7.60.
Dixie and the Big Red will return to Oberlin on Sunday, Feb. 23 for the final day of the NCAC Combined Events heptathlon. Beginning at 1:15 p.m., Dixie will compete in the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000-meter run.
