PENDLETON — With the end of the spring sports season, two former Pendleton Heights athletes have completed their college eligibility. Both Emma Manchess and Augdan Wilson distinguished themselves at the next level.
Manchess began her college track and cross country career at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne for a year before transferring to Ball State University.
Shortly after moving to Muncie, Manchess quickly established career bests in the cross country 5K and 6K races. In September 2014, she ran the 5K Miami (Ohio) Invitational in 19:36.83 while placing 40th, and in November, at the Mid-American Conference Championships, she placed 97th overall in the 6K with a time of 23:49.
She established track personal bests in the outdoor 1,500-meter run and indoor mile as a sophomore and broke the 11-minute barrier in the 3,000 as a junior with a time of 10:59.61 during the indoor track season. Her other outdoor track specialty was the 3,000 steeplechase; at the Red Hawk Invitational as a junior, she established her personal best of 12:07.57.

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Ball State distance coach Raynee DeGrio said, in addition to posting several top-10 finishes during her senior year, Manchess contributed to the team as a role model.
“She’s been a really good contributor,” DeGrio said. “She’s a great leader — she sets a great example with her work ethic and discipline. She balances a really difficult class load, which requires a lot of lab and studio hours. She’s a good example for younger girls on how to be a student-athlete.”
Manchess is majoring in art with minors in chemistry and business.
Like Manchess, Wilson did not finish where he started. After two years at Earlham College, Wilson transferred to Anderson University, where he was a model of offensive consistency.
He batted .333 as a junior and followed it up with a .333 season his senior campaign. He led the Ravens in games played, at-bats, doubles and runs scored as a senior.
In two years with Anderson, Wilson played in all 74 games, scoring 67 runs and hitting 19 doubles, also good enough to lead the team during the two-year period.