Scots Have Last Tune-Up Before NCACs Friday Night

Steve Zumbrun

In its final preparation prior to the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships, The College of Wooster men’s and women’s indoor track & field teams will compete Friday, Feb. 22, at the Greater Cleveland Championships, hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College. The annual meet will feature seven northeast Ohio schools – Baldwin-Wallace, Case Western Reserve University, John Carroll University, Notre Dame (Ohio) College, Oberlin College, and Wooster – and begins at 4:15 p.m. and runs through approximately 11 p.m. Last year, the Fighting Scots’ men’s squad finished in fifth-place of nine and the women were seventh in their eight-team field.

Last Week: On Feb. 15-16, Wooster competed in a pair of meets, with most of the squad at the non-scoring Kenyon Invitational on Friday night and then a select group of Scot qualifiers at the All-Ohio Championships Saturday afternoon.

At the All-Ohio’s, senior Steve Zumbrun (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Central Catholic) highlighted Wooster’s results, as his shot put toss of 44 feet, 9 inches was good for fifth-place. Also in the field, junior Jon Mathis (Tallmadge, Ohio / Tallmadge) earned sixth-place in the high jump (6 feet, 1.25 inches) and sophomore Eric Dyer (Lexington, Mass. / Lexington) took seventh in the triple jump (42 feet, 5.25 inches), and in women’s action junior Kayla Miller (Mercer, Pa. / Mercer Area) also finished seventh in the triple jump (34 feet, 5.5 inches). On the track, sophomore Bryan Albani (Warren, Ohio / Howland) recorded the third-fastest time in the prelims of the 55-meter hurdles (7.90) and then settled for seventh-place (8.19).

At the Kenyon Invite, Wooster was led by freshman distance specialist Suzanne Capehart (Oak Hill, Va. / Oakton), who won the 5000 meters with a time of 19:21.11. Dana Culbert (Fremont, Ohio / St. Joseph Central Catholic), Ali Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes), and Elizabeth Wardrop (Rockford, Mich. / American School of The Hague) were third-place finishers in the 800 meters (2:33.40), pole vault (9 feet, 0.25 inches), and long jump (14 feet, 4 inches), respectively. In men’s action, Averell Gatton (McLean, Va. / Langley) and Matt Jensen (Concord, Ohio / Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) were the Scots’ top performers, as they were both runner-up in their respective specialties, the high jump (6 feet, 0.5 inches) and the 55-meter hurdles (8.29).