DC Battles at All-Ohio

DELAWARE, OHIO -- The Defiance College track and field team competed in the All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University, on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Delaware, Ohio.

Defiance placed in the 16th spot out of 19 competing teams, scoring nine points. Ohio Wesleyan won the meet with 116.5 points, with Otterbein and Case Western rounding out the top three.

Leading the way for the Yellow Jackets was senior Joshua Petro (Ocala, Fla./The Villages), who finished in the second position in the hammer throw with a best toss of 52.69 meters (172 feet, 10 inches), less than three feet away from the All-Ohio title. The throw was a personal-best, and bumped the senior in the third spot on DC's all-time list and moved him into the top 30 on the Div. III National list.

Juniors Javier Castillo (Nogales, Ariz.) and Andrew Fahler (Wellington) added an 11th and 12th place finish, respectively, in the hammer throw in the field of 29 competitors. Castillo threw 45.24 meters (148 feet, 5 inches), while Fahler threw 44.44 meters (145 feet, 10 inches). Castillo was also DC's top finisher in the discus and shot put, placing 11th in both events with a toss of 40.92 meters (134 feet, 3 inches) in the discus and 13.34 meters (43 feet, 9.25 inches) in the shot put.

The 4x100-meter relay team featuring four freshman grabbed an eighth-place finish in the event. Maruice Brewer (Monticello, Ark./Drew Central), Gabriel Caris (Lambertville, Mich./Bedford), Jordan Latham (Bethel/Milford), and Cody Drumm-Turner (Homer, Mich.) ran a time of 44.45 seconds to earn the team's ninth point.

Caris and Drumm-Turner both turned in solid performances in open events. Drumm-Turner finished 14th in the 100-meter dash with a time of 11.48 seconds, while Caris finished 12th in the 400-meter dash with a time of 52.02 seconds.

The Yellow Jackets have their final tune-up before the HCAC Championships on Friday, Apr. 20 and Saturday, Apr. 21 with the Ohio Northern University Polar Bear Invitational. The hammer and javelin will compete on Friday, beginning at 3 p.m., while the rest of the meet will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m.