2008 Men's Track Season Outlook

Hurdlers, Jumpers Hoping to Lead the Scots Up the NCAC Ladder

Tristan Jordan, pictured here in the sprints, is a 10-time scorer as a jumper at NCAC meets.

With nearly every key performer back from last season’s track & field squad, which finished among the top-half of the 10-team North Coast Athletic Conference, The College of Wooster aims to take another step up the league standings in 2008. The Fighting Scots took fifth at both the indoor and outdoor meets last year, so if each individual can simply better his mark and hold off any newcomers in the NCAC, then they could be able to place among the top-three for the first time since the 2003 season.

“We expect to challenge the top teams in the conference during the season,” said Wooster’s 19th-year head coach Dennis Rice. “We have a well-rounded program, in terms of strength in all areas. It’s very balanced. We’re lacking a little bit of depth, but we have some real impact guys at the NCAC level.”

Leading the way will likely be sophomore hurdler Bryan Albani, already a four-time all-conference honoree. His specialty is the 110 hurdles, as he won the NCAC championship last spring with a time of 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, who is the school record holder for the indoor 55 hurdles (7.85) as well as a three-time scorer at conference events, and senior Matt Jensen, 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.

Wooster should be strong in the jumping events as well, with the likes of senior Tristan Jordan, sophomore Eric Dyer, and junior Averell Gatton. 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, 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 and sophomore pole vaulter Robert McConnell.

On the track, Albani will contribute to the sprints, along with sophomore Sateesh Venkatesh, Ashton Segree, John Officer, and Matthew Solter, and senior Seth Stuck, while potential scorers in the distance events include senior Rudy Gilman and sophomore twins Rick Workman and Terry Workman, the Scots’ top-three runners from last fall’s cross country season. Other distance specialists are junior Michael Cynkar, junior Mark DeWine, sophomore Jeff Jacobs, and junior Bryan Loy.

Wooster’s veteran-laden team will be joined by a seven-member freshmen class.