Wieferich Likely on Her Way to NCAA's After Record Time at All-Ohio's

Katie Wieferich

Katie Wieferich shattered The College of Wooster’s school record in the 10,000 meters by nearly two minutes and qualified for the NCAA Div. III Championships in that event, while leading the Scot women’s track & field team to a 12th-place finish at the All-Ohio Championships Saturday. Wooster’s men’s squad came in 13th at the annual meet, hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University, which pits individuals from the Buckeye State’s 21 Div. III schools.

Wieferich was one of the meet’s highlights, as she covered the grueling 10,000 in just 36:19.58, well ahead of runner-up Elizabeth Di Nino from Ohio Northern University (38:09.82). While Wieferich’s time doesn’t automatically qualify her for the NCAA national meet, it’s more than likely going to put her in, as it was believed to be the second-fastest time in Div. III this spring. The previous best by a Scot woman in the 10,000 was Beth Blakemore in 1992 (38:16.64).

Wooster performed well in the distance events as a whole on Saturday, with Emily Rackley contributing another point to the women’s cause via an eighth-place finish in the 10,000 (41:39.09) and Taylor Delhagen taking third-place in the men’s 10,000 (33:25.42), just 10 seconds off the winning pace.

Another strong event for the Scot was the hurdles. Dierre Taylor and Matt Jensen came in third and fifth in the 110 with respective times of 15.34 and 15.63 for the men, while Ali Drushal placed sixth in the women’s 400 (1:09.44).

Drushal also scored in the pole vault, finishing sixth in that event as well with a height of 10 feet, while her brother, Rick Drushal reached a mark of 145 feet, 8 inches in the discus, good for fourth-place.

Rounding out Wooster’s scorers were jumpers Tristan Jordan and Kayla Miller, who finished sixth in the men’s long jump (21 feet) and sixth in the women’s triple jump (34 feet, two inches).

Next weekend, the Scots will resume normal competition with the Kenyon Classic.