DC Men’s Track Selected Third in HCAC Preseason Poll
GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Defiance College men’s track and field team was voted third in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches’ poll for indoor track and field. The Yellow Jackets accrued 77 total points, one behind Franklin. DC also had five of its members placed on the athletes to watch list.
GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Defiance College men's track and field team was voted third in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll for indoor track and field. The Yellow Jackets accrued 77 total points, one behind Franklin. DC also had five of its members placed on the athletes to watch list.
Rose-Hulman received all 10 first place votes from the conference's coaches giving it 100 points and making it the unanimous favorite heading into the season. Franklin received the second most points in the voting with 78, followed by Defiance (77), Anderson (73), and Manchester (68). Claiming spots six through 10 were Earlham (46), Mount St. Joseph (46), Hanover (30), Bluffton (18) and Transylvania (14).
Three of the Jackets' five athletes to watch are seniors. The seniors will be counted on for leadership and strong performances in the HCAC indoor championships. The three that were selected are distance runners Aaron Fraley and Justin Perkins and thrower Josh Beaverson.
Fraley is a runner who can excel in a number of different distances. The senior currently holds top ten times in the DC record books for the 800-meter dash, 1,000-meter run, and 1-mile meter run. Fraley was also a part of the record holding distance-medley relay team.
Another distance threat for the Jackets is Perkins, who is coming off a solid cross-country campaign. In the Defiance College indoor track record book the senior currently ranks third in the mile, first in the 3,000-meter run and second in the 5,000 meter run. Perkins was also a member of the distance-medley relay team with teammate Fraley.
The Purple and Gold are going to rely heavily on Beaverson for points in the throws events. At last season's HCAC indoor championships the senior placed fourth overall in the shot put event and placed in the top 10 in the weight throw. Beaverson enters the year fourth overall in weight throw and fifth in shot put in the DC record book.
Two juniors were also selected as athletes to watch for this coming season. Sprinter and pole-vaulter Dan Hardin-Wallace and sprinter Aaron Demecs look to make major contributions for the track and field team. Both are members of the record-holding 4x200 meter relay team. Hardin-Wallace ranks in the top 10 in pole-vault, 60-meter dash and 200-meter dash in the DC record book. Demecs is the current record holder in the 400-meter dash and ranks in the top 10 in the 60-meter dash and the 500-meter dash.
The Yellow Jackets open up the 2012 campaign on Friday, January 20 at 6:00 p.m. in the Northwest Ohio Invitational. The invite will be held in Findlay, Ohio.