Bowman Claims HCAC Crowns at Indoor Championships

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Defiance College men's and women's track and field programs took on the always challenging Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships on Saturday.

"I'm really happy with this group this year," said Head Coach Nathan Christianson. "I think once we get some rest and add some pieces in outdoor, we're going to do even more."

Madi Bowman (Eaton/Eaton) led the way for Defiance. The senior capped her indoor HCAC career with a pair of All-Conference performances as she claimed both the weight throw and shot put titles. Bowman threw a distance of 15.99 meters in the weight throw while tallying an 11.29m toss in the shot put. The accolades continued as the Eaton native claimed the Women's Indoor Most Valuable Field Athlete of the Meet for her performance.

Remaining on the women's side of action, Lisa-Maria Markau picked up a top-15 finish in the women's long jump. The sophomore recorded a distance of 4.14m. Markau narrowly missed out on a finals appearance in the 60m dash, ultimately finishing with a time of 8.57 seconds.

On the men's side of the field, Cody Drumm-Turner (Homer, Mich./Homer) pushed to a finals appearance in the triple jump, ultimately bringing home a fourth-place result.

A strong performance from Ja'qway Janvier (Miami Gardens, Fla./Mater Academy Charter) and Gabriel Melvin (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast) in the men's 60m dash saw the duo finish third and fourth with times of 7.21 and 7.23 respectively.

Melvin continued his day with a fifth-place result in the 200m dash, recording a time of 23.56 seconds.

Defiance will return to action at the Polar Bear Final Qualifier on March 6-7.