Kelm Wins Hurdles, Scots Finish Fifth at Kenyon Invite

Rob Kelm

Junior Rob Kelm edged Brandon Balthrop of Kenyon by four-hundredths of a second to pick up a key victory in the 55-meter hurdles as The College of Wooster men’s track and field team wound up fifth overall in the nine-team field at the Kenyon Invitational. Wooster finished with 63 points overall, trailing the host Lords (117), Ohio Wesleyan University (114), Otterbein College (94), and Rio Grande University (76).

After finishing second to Balthrop in the preliminary round, Kelm improved his time by .12 to 8.50 to pick up a win in the hurdles, his first this season. The 10 points earned for the first-place finish helped to distance the Scots from Capital University, which ended up fifth overall (42).

Freshman David Thomas came through with a third-place showing in the 800-meter run (2:02.92), while senior Taylor Delhagen and junior Rick Drushal each put together fourth-place efforts in the 5,000 meters (16:12.22) and shot put (44 feet, 7.5 inches), respectively.

Additional top finishes included sophomore Jalam Cutting, who was eighth in the 55-meter dash (7:03) and fifth in the 200 meters (24.21), senior Jonathan Prince and sophomore Seth Stuck, who went 6-7 in the 400 meters in times of 54.10 and 54.12, respectively, and sophomore Steven Zumbrun, who claimed eighth in the shot put with a toss of 41 feet, 9.25 inches.

Wooster also sent four competitors to the All-Ohio Div. III Championships on Saturday, Feb. 11. Freshman Dierre Taylor came through with the best finish for the Scot men, placing seventh overall in the 55-meter hurdles in a time of 8.24.

Also competing was sophomore Tristan Jordan, who competed in two events on the day, finishing 10th in the long jump (19 feet, 4.25 inches) and ninth in the triple jump (39 feet, 5 inches), while freshman Averell Gatton came right behind in 10th in the latter with a total distance of 39 feet, 1.25 inches. Sophomore Matt Jensen also competed in the 55-meter hurdles, placing 10th overall in the preliminary heat with a time of 8.27.

The Scots next compete at the Greater Cleveland Championships hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, on Friday, Feb. 17, beginning at 5:30 p.m.