On January 29, Baldwin Wallace Men’s and Women’s Indoor Track and Field hosted their first home meet of the season, with the men’s and women’s team placing fifth and sixth out of six teams, respectively.  

The Dr. William Taraschke Team Challenge took place on the Harrison Dillard Track in the Lou Higgins Rec Center. The meet pitted BW against John Carroll University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Oberlin College, Case Western Reserve University, and Carnegie Mellon University. 

The men’s team placed last with a total of 25 points. Junior ShaDaryll Clark II won the 55m hurdles in a time of 7.85 and placed fourth in the high jump for a height of 1.75m. First-year Joe Kelly finished fourth in the 5000m run with a time of 16:27:36. Sophomore Desmond Manley placed fourth in the 200m in a time of 23.68 seconds.  

The women’s team placed fifth with a total of 66.50 points. Sophomore All-OAC distance runner Hope Murphy, won the 800m dash in a time of 2:21:56. Senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Alyssa Laughner placed second in the 3000-meter run in a time of 10:10:72. Junior Maddie Miller placed third in the 5000m with a time of 19:41:94. First-year Abby Collier finished second in the 200m with a time of 27.37 second and fourth in the 400m in a time of 1:10:76.  

The women’s 4×400 meter team of Murphy, Collier, Makenna Voytek, and Sam Varga placed second in a time of 4:17:42.  

In the field events, senior Gloria Jurcisek placed fifth in the high jump with a height of 1.53m. Sophomore Emily Randall placed fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 9.02m. Junior All-OAC Abby Rodrigues placed second in the shot out with a distance of 11.54m. 

This indoor meet is named after Taraschke, long time professor and track and field coach at Baldwin Wallace University. Taraschke was at BW for 31 years, beginning his career as an offensive backfield coach in football before becoming the head coach of Track and Field. 

Coach Taraschke led BW Track and Field to 47 OAC titles, was OAC Coach of the Year 35 times, Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year 13 times and NCAA Division III Coach of the Year two times. Taraschke was inducted into the Baldwin Wallace Alumni Association Hall of Fame in 2015. Taraschke passed away on April 7, 2021. In his honor, Baldwin Wallace University has established the Dr. William Taraschke Fund.