Defiance Completes Long Day at Otterbein

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – The Defiance College men's track and field team took part in the April Fools Invitational at Otterbein University on Good Friday.

Senior Joshua Petro (Ocala, Fla./The Villages) scored in a pair of events to lead DC in points, as he placed third in the hammer throw with a toss of 48.88 meters (160 feet, 4 inches). He also added a sixth-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 13.14 meters (43 feet, 1.5 inches), while junior Javier Castillo (Nogales, Ariz.) placed right behind Petro in seventh with a throw of 12.74 meters (41 feet, 9.75 inches). Castillo also placed fifth in the hammer throw competition with a toss of 44.40 meters (145 feet, 8 inches). 

Leading the Yellow Jackets in the jumps was freshman Vince Jackson (Mason), who placed third in the high jump with a jump of 1.80 meters (5 feet, 10.75 inches).

In the long jump competition, freshman Cody Drumm-Turner (Homer, Mich.) finished seventh overall with a best jump of 5.74 meters (18 feet, 10 inches). Drumm-Turner added a point to the Defiance total with an eighth place finish in the triple jump with a best of 12.05 meters (39 feet, 6.5 inches).

The 4x100 meter relay team of freshman Maurice Brewer (Monticello, Ark./Drew Central), freshman Gabriel Caris (Lambertville, Mich./Bedford), Jackson, and Drumm-Turner added a fourth-place finish in the meet with a time of 45.75 seconds.

Caris and sophomore Brandon Zartman (Paulding/Wayne Trace) added two top-10 finishes for the Yellow Jackets in the 400-meter dash, as Caris ran a 53.15 second lap, while Zartman ran a personal-best 53.67 seconds in the race.

Defiance will return to action on Friday, Apr. 6 and Saturday, Apr. 7 with a two-day invitational at Ohio Wesleyan University. The Marv Frye Invitational is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. on Friday with the hammer and javelin, and will continue with the rest of the meet on Saturday, Apr. 7 at 12 p.m.