Scots Making 2008 Debut at Denison Invite on Saturday

Bryan Albani

The College of Wooster’s men’s and women’s track & field teams open up their indoor season this Saturday, Jan. 26, as approximately 45 Fighting Scot student-athletes will see where they are, in terms of early-season conditioning, at the Denison Invitational. It will be a non-scoring meet consisting of individuals from six schools – Carnegie Mellon University, host Denison University, the State University of New York at Fredonia, Kenyon College, Waynesburg University, and Wooster. Action begins at noon with the field events, while the running events are scheduled for a 1:45 p.m. start.

Season Preview (Men): With nearly every key performer back from last season’s squad, which finished among the top-half of the 10-team North Coast Athletic Conference, the Scots aim to take another step up the league standings in 2008. Wooster took fifth at both the indoor and outdoor meets last year, and is now gunning to place among the top-three for the first time since the 2003 season.

Leading the way will likely be sophomore hurdler Bryan Albani (Warren, Ohio / Howland), already a four-time all-conference honoree. His specialty is the 110 hurdles, as he won the NCAC championship last spring (15.15) and nearly reached the NCAA Div. III Championships via a season-best 14.96, just six-hundredths of a second shy of the national qualifying mark. Additionally, Albani took third at the conference meets in the indoor 55 hurdles (8.07) and the outdoor 400 hurdles (56.50).

Complementing Albani will be junior Dierre Taylor (Akron, Ohio / Garfield), the school’s record holder for the indoor 55 hurdles (7.85) as well as a three-time scorer at conference events, and senior Matt Jensen (Concord, Ohio / Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin), another regular NCAC scorer whose career highlight thus far has been a runner-up effort in the outdoor 110 hurdles (15.74) two years ago.

The Scots should be strong in the jumping events as well, with the likes of senior Tristan Jordan (Virginia Beach, Va. / Floyd E. Kellam), sophomore Eric Dyer (Lexington, Mass. / Lexington), and junior Averell Gatton (McLean, Va. / Langley). Jordan has scored 10 times at the NCAC’s during his career, including runner-up finishes in the indoor triple jump (44 feet, 4.5 inches) last season and in the outdoor long jump (21 feet, 3.25 inches) as a sophomore. Dyer was within striking distance of a conference championship himself, taking second at last year’s outdoor triple jump (44 feet, 8 inches). Gatton could factor in the long jump or triple jump, but the high jump is his specialty, having garnered all-NCAC status via a third-place performance at last spring’s meet (6 feet, 2 inches).

Additional top performers in field events will consist of senior Steve Zumbrun (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic), who will take over as the team’s top thrower as he’s coming off fourth- and seventh-place showings in the shot put (46 feet, 3.25 inches) and discus (133 feet), respectively, as well as sophomore high jumper Jon Mathis (Tallmadge, Ohio / Tallmadge) and sophomore pole vaulter Robert McConnell (Blairsville, Pa. / Kiski School).

On the track, Albani will contribute to the sprints, along with sophomores Sateesh Venkatesh (Bedford, Mass. / Bedford), John Officer (Hanover, N.H. / Hanover), and Matthew Solter (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Sewickley Academy), and senior Seth Stuck (Cumming, Ga. / Salem), while potential scorers in the distance area include senior Rudy Gilman (Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Union) and sophomore twins Rick Workman (Hillsboro, Ohio / Edward Lee McClain) and Terry Workman (Hillsboro, Ohio / Edward Lee McClain), the Scots’ top-three runners from cross country season.

Season Preview (Women): Wooster has the unenviable task of trying to replace the points produced by a four-time All-American distance runner, losing Katie Wieferich to graduation, but the program possesses enough depth and talent to replicate a top-half finish within the conference and possibly make an impact on the national scene again. With Wieferich in top form, the Scots were among the top-30 at the last two NCAA Div. III Championships (outdoor).

This season, versatile junior Ali Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes) and classmate Kayla Miller (Mercer, Pa. / Mercer Area) will likely be the leaders. Drushal is already a six-time all-conference honoree in track & field, highlighted by an NCAC championship during last winter’s pole vault competition (10 feet, 8 inches). She’s finished top-three in the javelin and 400 hurdles as well with respective top marks of 117 feet and 1:07.45.

Miller is a jumping specialist, having scored 10 times already at NCAC meets. She exhibited significant improvement last year, earning a pair of all-conference certificates by coming in second in the outdoor triple jump (36 feet, 1.25 inches) and third in the outdoor long jump (16 feet, 6 inches) as well as posting an NCAA qualifying mark in the outdoor triple jump (37 feet, 3.25 inches).

Wooster, which placed third (indoor) and fourth (outdoor) out of a field of nine league teams in 2007, has other proven all-NCAC performers in junior thrower Katie Dale (West Point, Ind. / McCutcheon) and sophomore pole vaulter Sara Wiswell (Broadview Hts., Ohio / Brecksville-Broadview Heights). As a freshman, Dale took third in the outdoor shot put (37 feet, 4 inches) and scored three times at last season’s meets, while Wiswell cleared a height of 9 feet, good for third-place, at her very first conference event.

Additional support in the field will come from sophomore jumper Kelly Aughenbaugh (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster) once she wraps up basketball season as well as senior jumper/heptathlete Ashley Baker (Lexington, Ohio / Lexington), junior jumper Natalee Noche (Cambridge, Ohio / Cambridge), junior thrower Victoria Peterman (Smithville, Ohio / Smithville), and sophomore javelin specialist KateLynn Riley (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake).

Riley will also complement Drushal in the hurdles, as will senior Kelly Patton (Wooster, Ohio / Wooster), a four-time scorer at NCAC meets. The Scots could make an impact in middle distance, behind Suzanne Capehart (Oak Hill, Va. / Oakton), as the freshman made a strong debut during the fall, garnering honorable mention on the All-NCAC Cross Country Team via a 16th-place finish at that meet.