Callahan Headed to Nationals Again After Ninth-Place Regional Finish

Brendan Callahan qualified for nationals after finishing in ninth place at the Great Lakes Regional.

The College of Wooster men’s and women’s cross country teams placed eighth (of 32) and 13th (of 34), respectively, at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional this past weekend (Nov. 15), while individually, the highlight came from senior Brendan Callahan, as his ninth-place run qualifies him for the national meet. It marks the second time in Callahan’s career that he will compete in the NCAA Div. III Championships.

Callahan completed the 8K course at Hanover College in Hanover, Ind., in 25:51, just 21 seconds behind winner Hendrik Kok of Calvin College. Calvin won the men’s meet in impressive fashion, as individual Knights swept the first five places to total a minimum 15 team points. Albion was second with 108 points, while Wooster ended up with 234 tallies.

Earning all-region honors (top-35) along with Callahan was Scot sophomore Charlie Van Gombos, who finished 33rd overall (26:53) among the field of 225 harriers, while Wooster’s other scorers consisted of sophomore Taylor Delhagen, junior Chris Bender, and sophomore Colin Turner. Delhagen took 48th (27:08), and Bender and Turner were less than 30 seconds apart in 63rd (27:19) and 81st (27:48), respectively.

Pacing the Scot women, Katie Wieferich capped a solid freshman campaign with all-region recognition via a 28th-place performance. She covered the 6K in 23:51, good for the top-15 percentile of 233 runners. As a team, Wooster recorded 322 points, while Mt. Union College (112) edged Calvin (120) for the title.

Joining Wieferich in the scoring column for the Scots were junior Erin Jacob, senior Karina Colbenson, junior Lindsey Dieringer, and sophomore Jennie Stockdale. Jacob and Colbenson placed 45th (24:15) and 57th (24:40), respectively, followed by Dieringer in 96th (25:18) and Stockdale in 98th (25:19).

Callahan, who finished 199th (27:27) at the 2001 NCAA Championships, will complete his collegiate cross country career Saturday (Nov. 22). This year’s Div. III meet will also be hosted by Hanover, and the men’s race is scheduled to begin at noon.