Dragons climb to 5th in latest poll

Tiffin University's men's track and field squad climbed to 5th in the nation.
Tiffin University's men's track and field squad climbed to 5th in the nation.

Tiffin University's outdoor men's track and field program was ranked 5th in the latest USTFCCCA rankings, a leap of one spot from last week.

The Dragons had 149.69 points and trailed national leader Pittsburg State for the top spot. Grand Valley State was 9th and was joined in the Top 10 by Ashland in 10th place. The Dragons benefited from a strong showing in their California trip last week.

Tiffin had a number of athletes ranked nationally. James Ngandu was the national leader in the 10K and second in the 5K. His 10K time of 28:45.96 was ahead of the runner-up by 17 seconds. Jalon Monigan jumped to the top of the list in the triple jump with a leap of 15.98.

Tiffin University's 4x100 relay team of Duane BoydJonte BakerMichael King, and Reginald Thomas was 3rd in the nation with 40.46. Nikolas Curtiss was 3rd in the shot put with a mark of 18.46, while Eric Jackson was 4th in the same event with 18.38. Vincent Vogel was 6th in the long jump with 7.57 meters. Mackenzi Rickman was 9th in the 110 hurdles in 14.11.

Regionally the Dragons had even more placers. Leading the region were Ngandu (5K and 10K), Vogel (long jump), Monigan (triple jump), the 4x100 relay team, and Curtiss (shot put), while Cameron Burrows was 3rd in the high jump.

Other Dragons amongst regional leaders included Drew Hickman (7th in 200, 5th in 400), Mackenzi Rickman (2nd in 110 hurdles), Davis Bowers (2nd in pole vault), Reginald Thomas (2nd in 100), the 4x400 relay team (2nd), Jonte Baker (4th in 100), Stephen Korir (7th in steeplechase), Kevin Roberts (6th in triple jump), Michael King (5th in 200), Vincent Vogel (4th in triple jump), and Eric Jackson (5th in discus, 2nd in shot put).