Hailing from Portsmouth, Ohio, Peggy (Witt) Witter was an accomplished high school athlete, who earned four varsity letters at Valley High School in track and field, volleyball, and basketball. She was a four-year qualifier to the State track and field meet and, upon enrolling at Malone, began to make immediate contributions in both sprinting and throwing events for the Pioneer women’s track and field team.
A three-time competitor at both the NCCAA and NAIA National Championship Meets, Peggy excelled throughout her career in the javelin throw and as a member of Malone’s 4 x 100 meter relay team.
At the 1987 NAIA National Championship Meet, Peggy and teammates Tracie Stevenson, Tiffany Smith, and Samantha Hogan captured All-America honors after placing sixth in the 4 x 100 meter relay. The quartet’s blistering time of 48.23 seconds is still a Malone record and is currently the second-oldest school record for women’s track and field.
Following her impressive showing as a freshman, Peggy went on to break records and capture event titles at numerous local, state, and national meets. She was crowned an NCCAA National Champion in the 4 x 100 meter relay in 1987 and then won the individual NCCAA javelin title in both 1988 and 1991. Peggy also qualified for the NAIA National Championships in the javelin in ’88, ’89, and ’91 with her best performance coming as a senior in 1991 when she finished seventh in the nation, just one place shy of earning NAIA All-America recognition.
Although Peggy suffered a season-ending injury to her knee midway through her junior year, she was undeterred, coming back with another strong season the following year. Dr. Barb Easlick, one of Peggy’s professors at Malone, was always impressed with this display of resolve and determination. “Her track career shows her perseverance as she had a serious injury and worked very hard to come back the next year and qualify for nationals,” commented Easlick. “She was a good role model while at Malone and one of the strongest athletes Malone has ever seen.”
Dr. Scott Armstrong, Peggy’s track and field coach while at Malone, saw her strengths from the very beginning. “From the day she stepped on campus, she became a mainstay of the women’s track program,” noted Armstrong. “Peggy was probably the most versatile athlete I coached at Malone.”
Peggy graduated from Malone in 1991 with a degree in Health and Physical Education and has spent 14 years teaching in the Bloom Vernon Local School District. She now lives in Lucasville, Ohio with her husband, Brian, and their two children, Lexi and Jacob.
