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Final Results

Granville, Ohio – It couldn't have been more exciting finish at the North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Championships as the Oberlin College women's track and field team tied Ohio Wesleyan to earn a share of the 2009 NCAC crown. The Yeomen also matched their best-ever finish at the event by placing third.

This is the first NCAC Indoor Championship for the Yeowomen and marks their highest finish at the event since 2000 when they placed second. Head coach Ray Appenheimer was named as NCAC Co-Coach of the Year, while senior Nicky Ouellet earned Distance MVP honors.

“This was a total team effort and I can't begin to describe how happy I am for these student-athletes,” Appenheimer said. “Both our teams performed so well as the men also had an outstanding meet.”

Heading into the women's 4x400-meter relay, the final event of the night, Oberlin held a 130-128 edge over Ohio Wesleyan. However, the Bishops tandem of Rowena Jones, Rachael Newman, Kara Reiter and Sarah Shinn checked in first at 4:08.47 - besting the OC foursome of Ali Gemma, Laura Vernon, Amanda Miller and Madeline Schultz who completed the course in 4:10.46 to finish second and create a 138-138 tie.

Gemma, a senior from New York, New York, got the winning started with a long jump of 15-06. Shultz followed with a mark of 4-11.75 in the high jump to finish second and get the day off to great start for the Yeowomen.

The grouping of Gemma, Vernon, Schultz and Miller also shined in the 4x200 with a season-best time of 1:50.24 to win the event.

Ouellet earned her MVP accolades by continuing her impressive senior campaign with a win the mile – clocking in at 5:15.89. She also took the top spot in the 800 meters with a personal-best mark of 2:19.37 and placed fourth in the 3,000 at 10:40.56

One day after setting a new championship record in the 5,000 meters, sophomore Joanna Johnson turned in a strong run in the 3,000 meters by finishing second in 10:18.07.

Like the women, the Yeomen also finished in meet with some great performances to tie Denison for third place with 73 points.

Oberlin was sitting in fourth with 63 points heading into the final race of the night, which was the 4x400 relay. The clique of Solomon Turner, Peter Morris, Reshard El-Shair and Seth Wimberly responded by shattering the school record with a time of 3:22.77 to win the event.

The third-place showing is the Yeomen's best finish at the championship meet since 1990 and their 73 points mark the largest total in school history.

Turner, Edwin Takahashi, Shawn Chrapacznski and Wimberly combined to finish the 4x200 in 1:32.35 to place second overall.

Senior Ryan King bested his own school record in the mile with a time of 4:17.22 – good for fifth place and four team points.

Adding to his relay success, Turner stopped the watch at 22.68 in the 200 meters, finishing in second place.

The Ohio Wesleyan men won the event with 148.5 points. Allegheny placed second with 137 points.

For complete results, visit the NCAC Championship homepage.

Oberlin will begin its outdoor season in two weeks.