GREENCASTLE, Ind. (February 25, 2023) – The Denison University men's track & field team closed out the North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship in second place after compiling 132 points as a team. Wabash, meanwhile, earned its fourth-straight NCAC title with 157 points.

It was the best finish at the indoor conference championship for the Big Red since 2001 and was their best finish under the direction of Head Coach Mark FitzPatrick, who along with his staff (Sarah Oprondek, Ethan Perry, Nicholas Gray, Gene Booher, and posthumously Phil Torrens), was awarded the NCAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year award.

The Big Red also set new school records in the 60 meter hurdles and the 60 meter dash on Saturday.

After finishing in second place in the shot put on Friday, Chris Slater put together another all-conference performance in the weight throw with a long toss of 16.56 meters to finish in second place again while Gabe Springer was seventh at 14.27 meters.

The Big Red added two top-five marks in the pole vault as Isaiah Kessler (4.31 meters) earned all-conference with a third-place finish while Jason Spino (4.11 meters) ended in fifth place

In the final field event, the triple jump, Dagne Auditore (13.23 meters) was fourth, Angelo Ricci (12.93 meters) was sixth and Justin Tharayil (12.68 meters) was seventh.

Denison received 10 points each for its results in the weight throw, pole vault and triple jump events to get to within four points (77-73) of Wabash for first place entering the track events.

The Big Red then took the lead by one point (81-80) over the Little Giants as Jaylin Epps, Malik Holley, Nathan Hydukovich and Liam Quinlan put their efforts together to finish in second place in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 1:32.01. Wittenberg was first at 1:31.16 while Wabash was sixth at 1:34.08.

Oliver DiCerbo (4:27.45) then earned all-conference honors in the mile with a third-place time of 4:27.45 while Declan Toomey was seventh at 4:30.94. Wabash, however, won the title and added a fourth-place finish to take back the lead from Denison (95-89).

Ari Skolnik picked up the conference title in the 60 meter hurdles and broke his own school record with a time of 8.31 seconds while Jacob Brown was eighth at 8.96 seconds. Wabash, however, finished in order between fifth and seventh place to maintain a narrow four-point lead (104-100) over the Big Red through 12 events.

Hydukovich's fifth-place time of 50.82 seconds in the 400 meter dash helped Denison draw even closer to Wabash (106-104).

Jaylin Epps brought home Denison's second conference title of the day with a school record time of 6.93 seconds in the 60 meter dash, surpassing the previous record of 6.99 seconds set by Quenton Richards on March 8, 2014. Wabash, however, took each of the second, fourth and eighth spots to increase its lead to 120-114 over Denison after 14 events.

The Little Giants then widened their lead to 20 points (138-118) after sweeping the top-two spots in the 800 meter run. Toomey was fifth in the 800 for the Big Red with a time of 1:59.77.

Epps (22.63 seconds) and Holley (22.81 seconds) finished back-to-back in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the 200 meter dash, helping Denison cut Wabash's lead to 144-127 after 16 events.

Noah Cyr finished in sixth place with a time of 8:49.11 in the 3,000 meter run, and then in the final event, the 4x400 meter relay, Denison's squad of Holley, Hydukovich, Quinlan and Toomey finished seventh at 3:33.58 while Wabash clinched the team title with a winning-time of 3:23.18.

Throughout the two-day meet and including the heptathlon, Denison earned four NCAC titles and had nine total all-conference performances. Slater led the Big Red with all-conference honors in both the shot put (2nd place) and the weight throw (2nd) while Epps added an all-conference finish in the 4x200 meter relay in addition to his title in the 60 meter dash.
 
NCAC CHAMPIONSHIPS:

• Ari Skolnik – 60 meter hurdles – 8.31 seconds
• Jaylin Epps – 60 meter dash – 6.93 seconds

 
All-NCAC PERFORMANCES (TOP-3):

• Ari Skolnik – first place in the 60 meter hurdles – 8.31 seconds
• Jaylin Epps – first place in the 60 meter dash – 6.93 seconds
• 4x200 Meter Relay team – second place – 1:32.01 (Jaylin Epps, Malik Holley, Nathan Hydukovich, Liam Quinlan)
• Chris Slater – second place in the weight throw – 16.56 meters (54-04.00)
• Isaiah Kessler – third place in the pole vault – 4.31 meters (14-01.75)
• Oliver DiCerbo – third place in the one mile run – 4:27.45

 
OTHER POINT SCORERS (TOP-8):

• Dagne Auditore – fourth place in the triple jump – 13.23 meters (43-05.00)
• Jaylin Epps – fourth place in the 200 meter dash – 22.63 seconds
• Jason Spino – fifth place in the pole vault – 4.11 meters (13-05.75)
• Nathan Hydukovich – fifth place in the 400 meter dash – 50.82 seconds
• Declan Toomey – fifth place in the 800 meter run – 1:59.77
• Malik Holley – fifth place in the 200 meter dash – 22.81 seconds
• Angelo Ricci – sixth place in the triple jump – 12.93 meters (42-05.25)
• Noah Cyr – sixth place in the 3,000 meter run – 8:49.11
• Gabe Springer – seventh place in the weight throw – 14.27 meters (46-10.00)
• Justin Tharayil – seventh place in the triple jump – 12.68 meters (41-07.25)
• Declan Toomey – seventh place in the one mile run – 4:30.94
• 4x400 Meter Relay team – seventh place – 3:33.58 (Malik Holley, Nathan Hydukovich, Liam Quinlan, Declan Toomey)
• Jacob Brown – eighth place in the 60 meter hurdles – 8.96 seconds

Final Results