Drushal Siblings Lead Scots at Case Invite

Ali Drushal

The College of Wooster men’s and women’s track and field teams made it a family affair at the Case Invitational on Saturday (April 8) afternoon as Rick Drushal and younger sister Ali Drushal each won individual events to lead their respective squads to third-place finishes for the second consecutive weekend.

The Fighting Scot women accumulated 75 points on the day to finish just behind Ashland University in second place (79), while the men placed third with 131 total points. The host Spartans took home both team titles as the women easily won with 241 points and the men beat out Notre Dame (Ohio) College by five (188-183).

Ali Drushal picked up Wooster’s first individual victory of the day in the 100-meter hurdles. The Scot first-year beat out a field of five by crossing the line in 17.10. She also came up with a runner-up showing in the pole vault as she cleared an outdoor season-best height of exactly 10 feet.

Not to be outdone, the elder Drushal tallied three top-five showings, including grabbing first overall in the discus. The Scot junior threw the disk 144 feet, 8 inches, besting the field by more than five feet. Drushal nearly added a second title in the shot put, but came up short by a mere 2.75 inches with a second-place toss of 45 feet, 5 inches. In the hammer throw, he managed a heave of 120 feet, 5 inches to claim fourth overall.

In addition to Drushal’s efforts, the Wooster women had several other top showings. Freshman Kayla Miller picked up a win in the high jump with a leap of 4 feet, 6 inches, marking her first individual win of the outdoor season. She also placed third overall in the triple jump with a total distance of 30 feet, 3 inches. Junior Alexandra Thonis added second- and fourth-place efforts in the 100 (14.97) and 200 meters (30.72), respectively, while senior Hannah Bierlein crossed the line third in the 400 meters (1:08.44).

The field events were a strength for the Wooster men on Saturday as junior Alan Waddell secured a win in the pole vault by clearing 10 feet. Freshman Tristan Jordan posted a pair of top-three showings with a third-place effort in the long jump (19 feet, 4 inches) and a runner-up finish in the triple jump (38 feet, 3.25 inches). Complementing Drushal in the discus was senior Marco Garcia who came in third-place with a heave of 127 feet, 6 inches.

Junior Tim Presto and senior Colin Turner paced the Scots’ efforts on the track by going 2-3 in the 800 meters. Presto finished two seconds off the leader’s pace with a time of 2:02.75, while Turner came right behind at 2:05.15. Wooster also performed well in the hurdles as junior Rob Kelm and sophomore Matt Jensen finished 3-4, respectively, in the 110-meter hurdles and then switched positions in the 400.

Wooster continues competition next weekend (April 15) at the All-Ohio Championships hosted by Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.