Hilary Coady

Mark Stair

DELAWARE, Ohio – The College of Wooster's Hilary Coady competed alongside some of the best women's athletes in the country, taking part in the heptathlon at the NCAA Div. III Track & Field Championships Thursday and Friday on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University, and fellow Fighting Scot Mark Stair finished his freshman year among the nation's top high jumpers. Coady placed 21st overall and Stair 16th.

Coady, who was competing in just the fourth heptathlon of her career, started off strong with a time of 15.25 in the 100 hurdles and she then cleared 5 feet, 0.5 inches in the high jump, just shy of her personal best in each event. With 1,472 points, the Wooster sophomore sat in 12th-place through two events and a mere three points out of the top-10.

The high jump may have taken something out of Coady, though, as she attempted 16 jumps in the sunny, warm conditions before heading over to the shot put pit. Even after losing momentum with a foul on her second attempt, Coady's third throw was her best (28 feet, 6.25 inches), and then she closed day one of the heptathlon in the 200 meters (27.32).

Coady, who also competed in the 400 hurdles (1:06.49) on Thursday evening, opened up day two with a solid mark of 16 feet, 3 inches in the long jump. After an uncharacteristic showing in the javelin (72 feet, 9 inches), she finished strong with the ninth-best time in the 800 meters, covering the two laps in 2:23.44.

That added up to 4,253 points, about 200 off of her runner-up performance in the conference heptathlon (4,451).

"Overall, Hilary had an outstanding season," commented Wooster head coach Dennis Rice. "She had a great opportunity to compete at the national level, which sets herself up well for her junior and senior seasons. She'll continue to strengthen all seven areas in the heptathlon and improve in the 400 hurdles as well, and continue to challenge the top women in the country."

Stair, in a high jump competition for the first time in about three weeks due to a heel injury, passed on the first height (6 feet, 2.75 inches), then cleared 6 feet, 4.75 inches on his final attempt before easily getting over the 6 feet, 6.75 inch bar. He had really good attempts at 6 feet, 8 inches, according to Rice, before settling for 16th-place. Stair's season best was 6 feet, 9 inches, which would have put him into the top-10 (the winner reached 6 feet, 11.5 inches).

"Mark had a great day," Rice said. "We don't want to use the injury as an excuse. He competed very well, considering the last (few) weeks … and we're very confident that he can compete with the top guys in the country once everything falls into place. He had a tremendous season both indoors and outdoors, and no better way to finish a season than competing at nationals."