Track & Field | 3/2/2025 12:14:00 AM

Oberlin, Ohio – The Oberlin College track and field teams wrapped up competition today at the North Coast Athletic Conference indoor championships, hosted at home in the John W. Heisman Field House. The men's team finished fifth with 82 points, while the women's team finished seventh with 34 points. Wittenberg won the men's title with 139.5 points, while DePauw won the women's with 199 points. 
 
In addition to their conference placements, the women's team notched five personal bests, while the men's team tallied three. The women's team landed one performance on Oberlin's all-time top-ten list, while the men's team added three.  
 
Starting the day in the field, Namu Makatiani earned his third conference title in the triple jump. The junior sprang to an early lead of 13.86m on his second jump, but struggled to find the board in his next attempts. Wabash's Sylvester Williams leapt 14.03m to seize the lead on his last attempt, putting the pressure on Makatiani for his final jump. The junior responded brilliantly, however, flying to 14.32m to secure the win.  
 
In the shot put, sophomore Abraham Cromartie V  placed eighth with a heave of 13.25m, scoring his first conference point for the Yeomen. 
 
The first track finals of the day were the 4x200m relays. The men's relay of Raluchi Obioha, Reese Hyatt, Josiah Howard, and Cole Fuller placed 7th in 1:34.37, while the women's relay of Yrva Desormeaux, Heather Benway, Ryley Steggall, and Clara Smith took 6th in 1:48.71. 
 
In the men's mile, the trio of Walter Moak, Liam Newman, and Piers Shirk scored 16 points, the team's highest total in any event.  DePauw's Matt Rowley led the race through 800m in a pedestrian 2:20, as racers shoved one another and jostled for position. On the backstretch, Moak slipped past Rowley on the inside, accelerating drastically to stretch the pack to single file. As Shirk attempted to cover the move, he tripped over a competitor and hit the ground hard with three laps to go. Moak ran away with the win in 4:21.13, easing up on the homestretch to save his all-out effort for the 3,000m. Newman finished fifth in 4:27.51, while Shirk rallied hard to retake scoring position, crossing the line in 4:30.93 for seventh place.
 
The men's 400m was emotionally charged for the Crimson and Gold. Senior Fuller suffered a foot injury prior to the final, but elected to run the race regardless in order to score for the team. Initially a favorite for the podium, Fuller persevered to finish the race in eighth, applauding the cheering crowd as he crossed the finish line.
 
The men's 800m final came down to the wire for junior Treyce Wood, who out-leaned Wabash's David Adesanya for fourth place in a time of 1:57.08, just a hundredth of a second off of his indoor best.
 
The women's 800m was less in doubt, as senior Sage Serraino took the lead over Kenyon's Anna Brown at the bell lap, gapping the field to win in 2:17.91. The time is an indoor best for Serraino, and good for #3 on the all-time list. Fellow senior Camila Ciembroniewicz closed well to place sixth in 2:23.82.
 
In the women's 3000m, the distance trio of sophomore Char Purcell, senior Caleigh Lyons, and junior Amber Borofsky all ran personal bests, with Purcell and Lyons dipping under the 11-minute mark for the first time. Purcell led the race for the early laps, as DePauw's deep distance squad lurked mid-pack. After the pace picked up, Purcell latched on to the lead pack to run an 18-second personal best of 10:43.47 for tenth place. Lyons ran a consistent race to pick up a 10-second personal best of 10:59.16 for fifteenth place. Borofsky rounded out the group with a time of 11:10.58, shaving six seconds off of her previous best.
 
The men's 3000m closed out the distance events in style. Doubling back from the mile, Moak worked his way up over the early laps, joining junior Charles Endres and senior Jonah Barber at the front. Shirk, also returning from the mile, was close behind. The race strung out in the later laps, with Moak battling Brayden Curnutt of Wabash for the lead. Despite a gutsy move going into the final lap, Curnutt slipped past Moak on the home straight. Moak ran a personal best of 8:25.58 for second place, dipping under the meet record of 8:26.60 set by Oberlin's own Geno Arthur in 2016. Endres was back in a ten-second personal best of 8:35.98, closing hard to claim fourth place over Wooster's Will Callender. Barber also closed strongly to move into scoring position, running 8:44.83 for seventh place. Shirk turned in a valiant 8:49.35 for tenth. With today's performances, Moak, Endres, and Barber now stand at #2, #4, and #8 in Oberlin history.
 
Lastly, the women's 4x400m brought a strong close to the meet for the home crowd. The relay of Serraino, Ciembroniewicz, Desormeaux, and junior Steggall finished third in 4:09.16, edging Wooster for the podium by a quarter-second.
 
This weekend's championships mark the end of the indoor season for most of Oberlin's athletes, though a select few may compete at last chance meets next weekend. Oberlin's outdoor season opens at home at the Bob Kahn Invitational, March 28-29.  

Complete Results
 
Fans can keep up with their favorite teams on Instagram, Facebook, X, or TikTok, and watch all the home matches live online. The Crimson and Gold's home broadcasts can be accessed on TV through the official Oberlin College Sports Network app on Roku, Apple TV, and Amazon Fire TV.