Two Kenyon College men’s track athletes finished the season with North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Outdoor Track and Field titles, with Tapiwa Gono Phiri and Riley Orth winning for the second straight year.
Orth defended his shot put title with a 15.47-meter toss on his second attempt, which was just short of the school record of 15.48. it was a career best for Orth and the season best for Kenyon.
Gono Phiri was the winner in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.767 seconds, beating last year’s winning time of 10.82 and edging Denison sophomore Jaylin Epps, who finished second in 10.769. Gono Phiri also finished fifth in the 200, clocking in at 22.34 seconds. Earlier in the season, he was named NCAC Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week for his Kenyon record 43.98-meter throw in the hammer. He had three straight events where he set records.
The Kenyon men’s track team finished seventh at the NCAC outdoor championship with a total of 58 points. Dennison University was on top with 162 points.
The Kenyon women’s team also placed seventh and was led by sophomore Paula Soric, who won the triple jump title and named NCAC Field Athlete of the Year. Soric was the NCAC Field Athlete of the Year during the indoor season, as well.
Soric’s leap of 11.77 meters beat her own Kenyon College record. She is 19th among NCAA Division III triple jumpers. Soric was also on the 4x100 relay team and had a hand in a total of 22 of Kenyon's 54 points in the championship.
Wittenberg won the meet with 216 points.
Honors
Five Owls represented the Kenyon men's team on the 2023 Academic All-District Team, chosen by College Sports Communicators: seniors Jack Burczak and Michael Deal, juniors Orth and Collin Witt, and sophomore Gono Phiri.
The women’s team also had five athletes represented: seniors Erika Conant, Alice Riley, Ella Wilson and Eras Yager, as well as sophomore Soric,
Conant and Soric were also named All-Region for the Great Lakes Region, announced by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association. Players who qualify must be top five in an event in their region.
Conant had a fifth best total in the heptathalon this season with 3,296 points and made the All-Region team for the first time. Soric has been named four times, in both indoor and outdoor track. Triple jump earned her a spot on this year's team after her 11.77-meter leap in at the NCAC Championship. This was second best in the Great Lakes Region and 30th in NCAA Division III.