Senior Drew Windle is all about repetition.
Coming into the 2014-15 indoor/outdoor track and field season, Windle had won eight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships (four indoors, four outdoors). And he keeps repeating – not only winning another 800-meter indoor title in the winter, but, on Friday (May 1) on the third and final day of the 2015 GLIAC outdoor championships, winning titles in the both the 800 (1:49.11) and 1,500 (3:54.50).
Windle wasn't alone on the top of the podium on Friday. Junior Elijha Owens won the men's 110-meter hurdle finals in 13.91, setting a new conference meet record in the process. Senior Jennifer Foster took top honors in the women's high jump, clearing 1.76 meters/5-feet-9¼.
Owens also improved on his previous provisional nationals time in the men's 400-meter hurdles, finishing second in 51.43. Senior Waquiem Comar did the same, placing fourth in 52.84, and earned a new provisional time in the men's 110-meter hurdles (fourth, 14.57). Freshman Irene Skinner broke through with a provisional time in the women's 400-meter dash, placing third in 55.87.
Both sophomore Jason Zahn (third, 17.48 meters/57-feet-4¼) and freshman Elijah Talk (fifth, 17.31 meters/56-feet-9½) improved on previous provisional distances in the men's shot put. Zahn also was second in the men's discus throw (improved provisional of 54.90 meters/180-feet-1), and senior James Clay Harris earned a provisional mark in the discus at 51.02 meters/167-feet-5.
In the women's shot put, all four AU entries finished in spots 2-5. Junior Jamie Sindelar was second (14.63 meters/48-feet-0), senior Jessica Bridenthal took third (14.60 meters/47-feet-11), senior Shatora Lewis was fourth (provisional-improving 14.25 meters/46-feet-9) and sophomore Megan Tomei placed fifth (14.16 meters/46-feet-5½).
After the meet, Bridenthal was named the conference's women's field athlete of the year.
Lewis took second in the women's discus throw at 47.40 meters/155-feet-6, junior Nick Hall was right behind Windle in the 1,500 at 3:54.64 and the men's 4x100-meter relay team of freshman Halen Witcher, junior Brandon Freeman, Owens and junior Eric Thompkins took second in 41.35. Thompkins also placed third in the men's 100-meter dash (10.68), and junior David Knack did the same in the men's 5,000-meter run (14:45.65).
In the final team standings, the AU men placed second (143 points) behind champion Grand Valley State (157), while the Eagle women were fourth (91.5) behind Grand Valley (159), Hillsdale (109.5) and Tiffin (100).
Qualifiers from the AU's men's and women's outdoor track and field teams will compete in the 2015 NCAA Division II Championships on May 21-23 in Allendale, Mich.
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