Wieferich Third at Regionals, Qualifies for Nationals

Katie Wieferich

Katie Wieferich will represent The College of Wooster at the NCAA Div. III Cross Country Championships on Nov. 19 after placing third overall out of a field of 222 runners at Saturday’s NCAA Great Lakes Regional, hosted by Wilmington College in Wilmington, Ohio.

Wieferich will be the 11th women’s harrier under long-time Wooster coach Dennis Rice to compete at the national meet, but first since 2000 when Sandy Tecklenburg also finished third at regionals.

Entering Saturday with five individual wins in six races this fall, Wieferich was expected to be among the leaders, and she did not disappoint. The Scot junior glided over the 6K course in 20:59.2, only finishing behind Hanover College’s Leah Peelman (20:28.8) and DePauw University’s Leslie Dillon (20:46.8).

Wieferich’s effort led Wooster to an 18th-place finish out of 31 teams, while Denison University edged Calvin College 97-105 to win the women’s regional crown. In the men’s event, Calvin cruised to the title with 46 points, well ahead of runner-up Anderson University (99), while the Scots came in 22nd of 34.

Also running in the top-100 for the Scot women was sophomore Nicole Calderone, who crossed 92nd overall (23:45.9), while not too far behind her was junior Ashley Zervos in 115th (24:09.5). Wooster’s other scorers consisted of junior Emily Rackley and sophomore Erin Fortin, who placed 134th (24:35.7) and 144th (24:43.0), respectively.

Pacing the Scot men’s pack was senior Taylor Delhagen, who narrowly missed out on earning all-region honors for the second time in his career. He was 38th of 232 competitors (the top-35 are named to the All-Great Lakes Team), covering the 8K course in a time of 26:01.8.

Fellow classmate Colin Turner was next, running 112th overall (27:22.3), and completing Wooster’s scoring contingent were sophomore Colin Haverkamp in 143rd (27:56.1), freshman Bryan Loy in 146th (28:00.0), and junior Rudy Gilman in 150th (28:07.7).

Local fans can catch a glimpse of Wieferich in action next week, as the NCAA Championships are being hosted in the Columbus area at Ohio Wesleyan University. The women’s 6K starts at 11 a.m.