Brancheau and Colbert each win twice to lead Men's Indoor Track & Field at Joe Banks Invitational

By: Andrew Korba

ADA -- Junior Josh Colbert and sophomore Ryan Brancheau each won two events to lead the Ohio Northern men's indoor track & field team to a first place finish at the Joe Banks Invitational at the ONU Sports Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Polar Bears won the event with 148.5 points, followed by John Carroll with 107.5 and Rose Hulman (Ind.) with 101.5.

Colbert was victorious in the long jump, posting a leap of 22-7.75.

In the 60 meter dash, Colbert posted a time of 7.06 seconds, barely beating junior Francisque Pierre-Jerome who came in second in 7.07 seconds.

Brancheau won the high jump with a leap that covered 6-4.00.

He was also victorious in the triple jump, covering a distance of 37-8.50.

Senior Tobias Deardorff won the 5,000 run in 15:57.85, while sophomore Brett Neutzling was third in 16:40.17.

The 4x200 relay team of junior Adrian Arias and freshman Devon Jones, Jojuan Fisher and Christian Rupe finished second in 1:33.12.

In the 1 mile run, junior Mathew Johnson finished second in 4:23.02 and senior Michael Simmons notched a fifth place finish in 4:28.98.

Freshman Matthew Ernstes grabbed a second place finish in the 1,000 run in 2:43.28.

Junior Evan McKee was third in the 800 run with a time of 1:58.55, while sophomore Dan Steigerwald finished fifth in 1:59.62.

Freshman Robbie Brinkman was fifth in the 60 hurdles, finishing in 8.93 seconds.

"I am very proud of our effort across the board today," said head coach Jason Maus. "We set many new personal records and have a lot of momentum heading into next weeks meet."

Ohio Northern will return to action again on Feb. 9 when it competes at the All-Ohio Championships at Otterbein.

Final Team Standings

1. Ohio Northern 148.5, 2. John Carroll 107.5, 3. Rose Hulman (Ind.) 101.5, 4. Otterbein 100, 5. Capital 79, 6. Defiance 57, 7. Huntington (Ind.) 36.5, 8. Marietta 32, 9. Bluffton (28), 10. Ohio State Running Club 19.