GREENCASTLE — Wabash captured its 11th North Coast Athletic Conference outdoor track and field championship and 20th track and field title overall by winning the 2025 NCAC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship on Saturday afternoon at DePauw University.
Wabash scored 172.5 points to outdistance Denison University in second place with 137.5 points. Wittenberg, the pre-championship favorite to win the men’s title, finished in third place with 130.5 points. DePauw finished in fourth place with 110 points, followed by Ohio Wesleyan (83.5 points), Oberlin (69 points), Wooster (52 points), Kenyon (40 points), and Hiram (24 points).
The 11 outdoor titles extend the Wabash record for NCAC titles. The Little Giants have won five championships in the past seven years.
Head coach Clyde Morgan, associate head coach Tyler McCreary, and assistant coaches Emile Conde, Mitchell Kessler, Dillon Frederickson, and emeritus track and field coach Robert Johnson were named the NCAC Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Staff of the Year.
“We dedicated this meet to former Wabash Dean of Students Tom Bambrey,” Morgan said after the meet. “Tom (who passed away earlier this year) was dedicated to the sport from his time as an athlete, as a dean at his alma mater, and after he retired as director of athletics of the College. We definitely felt his presence throughout the weekend.”
Senior Brayden Curnutt earned NCAC Men’s Distance / Mid-Distance Runner of the Year honors. He broke the NCAC championship meet record by winning the 5,000-meter run in 14:40.54, breaking the old mark of 14:45.50 set by former Wabash runner Paul Christian in 2019.
Will Neubauer won the 800-meter run by finishing in 1:52.84. Teammates Haiden Diemer-McKinney and David Adesanya added second and fourth-place finishes. Diemer-McKinney earned all-conference honors with his runner-up performance, crossing the finish line in 1:54.82. Adesanya placed fourth overall with a time of 1:56.70.
Wabash earned six of the top-eight places in the discus throw, led by Quinn Sholar’s second-place finish with an all-conference mark of 45.83 meters (150 feet, 4 inches). Evan Furuness was named the NCAC Men’s Field Athlete of the Year, adding a fourth-place finish in the discus with his effort of 42.06 meters (138 feet) to his other meet accomplishments. He won the shot put on Friday and earned all-conference honors with a third-place finish in the hammer throw.
Jordan Tate finished fifth in the discus with a top effort of 41.59 meters (136 feet, 5 inches). Jakob Van Pelt added a sixth-place finish with a season-best throw of 41.26 meters (135 feet, 4 inches). Oostman scored a seventh-place finish with his toss of 41.25 meters (‘35 feet, 4 inches).
Owen Smith took second place in the 400-meter hurdles, earning all-conference honors with his personal-best time of 54.83.
Carter Leininger scored a fourth-place finish in the 100-meter dash, posting a time of 10.77. Tanner Brooks placed eighth overall in the finals with a time of 11.00. Leininger also earned a fifth-place finish in the 200-meter dash by crossing the line in 21.76.
Ryan Papandria placed fourth overall in the javelin throw with a toss of 51.61 meters (169 feet, 4 inches). Jake Oostman scored a sixth-place finish with his throw of 49.92 meters (163 feet, 9 inches).
Kannon Chase earned a fourth-place finish in the high jump by clearing a season-best height of 1.90 meters (6 feet, 2.75 inches). Oostman placed sixth in the high jump with his season-best height of 1.85 meters (6 feet, 0.75 inches).
Mike Holsclaw produced a leap of 12.65 meters (41 feet, 6 inches) to finish in seventh place in the triple jump.
Smith, Leininger, Nate Joven, and Brooks combined to finish fourth in the 4x100-meter relay with a combined season-best time of 42.15. Leininger, Smith, Diemer-McKinney, and Adesanya combined to finish the 4x400-meter relay in 3:24.08 to place seventh overall.
