FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2/24/03

CONTACT:
B.J. Schneck (wschneck@greenville.edu)
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Greenville College
(618) 664-6621

Greenville College Men's Track & Field Team Dominates in Claiming Fourth Straight NCCAA Indoor National Title

GREENVILLE, Ill. - The Greenville College men's track and field team claimed their fourth straight NCCAA indoor national championship on Saturday at Findlay (Ohio) University as they amassed 144 points to outdistance second place Malone College by 68 points. Behind Greenville, the finishing order was quite a battle as only 19 points separated second place from eighth place.

The men "jumped" out to a fast lead, scoring 58 points after the first four events. The high jump and long jump were the first two events scheduled for the day, and were also G.C.'s largest scoring events with 20 points apiece. The men's weight throw netted 15 points, and the distance medley relay nabbed sixth place for three points.

The triple jump, 55 meter dash, and 200 meter dash also raked in big points for Greenville, but were only a few of the many events in which G.C. scored throughout the day.

Bryson Taylor had a stellar day, claiming victory in the high jump, long jump, and triple jump. Taylor's form simply got better as the day progressed. An average 6' 6" jump in the high jump sealed the win.

Rushing over to the long jump, Taylor qualified for the finals and then leapt to the win with a 22' 4 ¼" effort. Finally after a few fouled attempts in the triple jump, Taylor exploded with a jump of 48' 2 ¾". This tremendous effort set a school record, personal best, and sealed the victory by two and a half feet.

For his accomplishments on the day, Taylor was honored as the meet's outstanding male athlete.

Other G.C. tracksters collecting wins were Cory Merriman, Brandon Tripp, and Danny Donaldson. Merriman hurled the 35 pound weight 49' ¾" to capture the win. Brandon Tripp sped to first place in the 55 meter dash in 6.54 seconds. Tripp also finished third in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.91 seconds. The victory in the 200 went to teammate Danny Donaldson as he flew around the oval in 22.47 seconds.

Mark Niemuth, Damian Banks, Nate Johns and Terrance Poe also came up big for the Panthers as they all grabbed points in multiple events.

Like the distance medley, the other relays were solid. The 4 x 400 and 4 x 800 each nabbed points to add to the overall total.

The Panthers will continue their indoor campaign in hopes of gaining more qualifiers for the NCAA Division III indoor national championships. The Panthers will travel to DePauw University on March 1 and 7.

Greenville College is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1,200 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, Ill., 45 miles east of St. Louis.

Last updated: February 25, 2003