Scots at Annual NCAC Relays This Saturday

Ali Drushal

The College of Wooster track & field teams will get an early opportunity to see how they stack up against the rest of the North Coast Athletic Conference, as the Fighting Scots will take part in the annual NCAC Relays, hosted by Denison University in Granville, Ohio, this Saturday, Jan. 27. Events are scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. inside the Mitchell Fieldhouse. Last year, the Ohio Wesleyan University men and the Allegheny College women took home top honors, while the Wooster men and women both finished in sixth-place out of 10 and nine squads, respectively.

    Last Week: On Jan. 19, the Wooster track & field teams made their 2007 debut, combining for 10 individual titles (seven men, three women) at the non-scoring Oberlin Lid Lifter. Other schools competing were Hiram College, Lake Erie College, Oberlin College, and Westminster (Pa.) College.
    Tristan Jordan (Virginia Beach, Va. / Floyd E. Kellam) was the Scots’ lone double winner of the night, leaping to top honors in the long jump (18 feet, 9.75 inches) and the triple jump (41 feet, 6.5 inches). Also in the field events, Averell Gatton (McLean, Va. / Langley) cleared 5 feet, 6.5 inches for first-place in the high jump and Rick Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes) threw the shot put 45 feet, two inches for a winning effort in that event.
    On the track, Jeff Jacobs (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier Township) led a contingent of eight Wooster runners in the mile, taking first-place overall (5:00.09) with teammate Bryan Loy (Oxford, Ohio / Talawanda) right behind in second (5:03.10), and in similar fashion, John Officer (Hanover, N.H. / Hanover) edged fellow Scot Will Setliff (East Palestine, Ohio / East Palestine) to win the 500 meters as they crossed in times of 1:14.27 and 1:14.46. Another event in which Wooster finished 1-2 was the 55-meter hurdles, with Dierre Taylor (Akron, Ohio / Garfield) edging out Bryan Albani (Warren, Ohio / Howland) at the line 8.31 to 8.52.
    Highlighting women’s action for the Scots were KateLynn Riley (Westlake, Ohio / Westlake), Ali Drushal (Lakeville, Ohio / West Holmes), and Kayla Miller (Mercer, Pa. / Mercer Area). Riley and Drushal took 1-2, respectively, in the 55-meter hurdles at 9.83 and 9.87 seconds. Drushal then won the pole vault, clearing 10 feet even, and Riley was runner-up in the long jump (14 feet, 4.5 inches). Miller produced a victory in the triple jump competition with a mark of 30 feet, 6.25 inches.