Defiance College 2020-21 indoor track season preview
DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men's and women's track and field program will head into the 2020-21 indoor season with a mix of veteran returners and exciting newcomers.
Led by second-year head coach Nathan Christianson, Defiance will host a series of meets against conference and regional opponents before competing at the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Indoor Championships in February. This year's championships are scheduled for February 20-21 in Terre Haute, Ind.
The men's team returns two All-Conference sprinters in Ja'Qway Janvier (Miami Gardens, Fla./Mater Academy Charter) and Gabriel Melvin (Jacksonville, Fla./Atlantic Coast), who took third and fourth place in the 60m dash at the conference championship last year. Janvier ran a personal best in the 60m last season with a time of 7.12 seconds, good for the fifth-best time in school history. In addition to placing fourth in the 60m, Melvin recorded a fifth-place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 23.56 seconds.
Lisa Markau is the top returner for the women's team. The junior recorded personal bests in the 60-meter dash (8.43 seconds) and the long jump (4.26 meters) last season and will look to be a leader for Christianson's young team. Other returners include Destiny Oshodin (Toledo, Ohio/Jesup W. Scott), who competed on the relay teams last season, and mid-distance runner Brianna Snider (Lima, Ohio/Shawnee).
Exciting newcomers for the men's program include V'Sean Palmer (Dayton, Ohio/Thurgood Marshall), Joshua Gaffney (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon), John Reese (Morton, Texas/Morton), and Tawon Cannon (Columbus, Ohio/Mifflin), all of which were named HCAC players to watch.
Three rookies on the women's squad, Katelyn Smith (Edgerton, Ohio/Fairview), Shi'nique Lawrence (Toledo, Ohio/Bowsher), and Deleita Powell (Cleveland, Ohio/Shaw), also were named to the players to watch list.
Both track programs will begin their seasons at home tomorrow when they host Anderson University and Adrian College in the Dave Meuleman Classic. The event is scheduled to get underway at 4:00 p.m. at the George M. Smart Athletic Center.