Dragons back in 2nd nationally, closing in on 1st

Dylan Cornwell and the TU men's track team rose to second in the nation this week.
Dylan Cornwell and the TU men's track team rose to second in the nation this week.
Posted: Feb 14, 2018

Tiffin University's men's track and field squad rose to 2nd in the nation and are within 4 points of the top spot, as the latest USTFCCCA Division II national and regional rankings came out.

The Dragons trailed Colorado Mines in the standings, with Colorado Mines totaling 166.43 while Tifin was right behind with 162.48. Adams State was in third with 154.98, while Grand Valley State fell to fourth with 131.61. Ashland fell to sixth, while Findlay dropped to ninth. 

TU had 10 athletes ranked in the top 10 in 10 different events nationally. James Ngandu is second nationally in the 5000 with 13:57.54. Cameron Burrows appears in two categories - 5th in the high jump with 2.12 meters and 8th in the heptathlon with 5240 points. 

Dylan Cornwell was 5th nationally in the pole vault with 5.10 meters. Reginald Thomas holds the 3rd best time in the 60 meters with 6.71 and Jonte Baker is 4th with 6.74, while Eric Jackson is also 5th in the shot put with 18.04 meters and Ngandu also appears in the 3000 with the 4th best time in 8:01.61. Vincent Vogel also stayed in the top 10 in the long jump, placing 10th nationally with a leap of 7.31. Jalon Monigan joined the national list with a 7th place effort in the triple jump with 15.24 meters, while Nikolas Curtiss also joined Jackson in the shot put with a 9th place effort (17.89) and Mackenzi Rickman popped up in 6th in the 60 hurdles in 7.95.

Regionally the Dragons have even more standouts. Ngandu (3000, 5000), Thomas (60), and Monigan (triple jump) are all top ranked in the Midwest Region. Burrows (high jump, heptathlon), Baker, Cornwell (pole vault), Vogel (long jump), and Jackson (shot put) are second in their respective events.

Other standouts include Jalon Monigan (3rd in triple jump), Kevin Roberts (4th in triple jump, 6th in long jump), Vogel (3rd in triple jump), Errik Snell (5th in 60 hurdles), Davis Bowers (3rd in pole vault), Drew Hickman (5th in the 400), Burrows (7th in long jump), Nikolas Curtiss (3rd in shot put), Mackenzi Rickman (2nd in 60 hurdles), Shaquille Hildreth (2nd in 200), Thomas (3rd in 200), Michael King (8th in 200), Ngandu (7th in mile), and the 4x400 relay team of Abbitt, Hildreth, Lynn, and Hickman (3rd). The DMR team of Korir, Abbitt, Carlton, and Ngandu are ranked 5th.