NCAC Championships Central | Kenyon Host Page
This Week's Outlook: The College of Wooster indoor track and field teams travel to Kenyon College to take part in the 2024 North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships Friday and Saturday. Field events start Friday at noon. Track events are scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. On Saturday, start times are listed at 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Ticket Information: Admission prices are as follows:
- Adults - $5
- Children (18 and under)/Student without NCAC institution ID - $3
- All-Session Pass - $10
- NCAC students (with institution ID) – free
Media Coverage: Fans can follow along through the available live stream and live results webpages.
Looking Back at Last Year's NCAC Indoor Championships: The Wooster men tied for third with 99 points, and the women finished fifth with 85 points. Wabash College won on the men's side, while Wittenberg won the women's title. The men claimed nine All-NCAC accolades and two titles(pole vault, 3,000 meters). Will Callender was named the Distance Athlete of the Year. The women claimed five All-NCAC certificates and took home three titles (pole vault, shot put, pentathlon).
This Year's Pre-Championship Poll: Wittenberg is favored again on the women's side after receiving eight first place votes in the pre-championship coaches poll. Wooster was voted to finish fourth. For the men, Wittenberg (76) edged out Wabash (75) after claiming five first place votes to Wabash's four. Wooster was voted tied for fourth with Oberlin College (51) but just two points away from third place Denison University.
Heptathlon/Pentathlon Recap: Junior Daysia Hargrave already gave Wooster its first All-NCAC certificate after finishing third in the pentathlon. She scored 2,993 points and set a new NCAC pentathlon record in the 60 hurdles at 9.05 seconds. It was just shy of her school record at 8.86 seconds, which she set earlier this year. On the men's side, junior Vell Robinson scored for the Scots with a sixth-place finish.
Fit For a King: Eight new records have already been set between the men's and women's teams this year, and half have been set by first-year King JeJu. JeJu exploded onto the scene at Wooster and currently holds the school records in the 60 dash (6.85), 200 meters (22.25), triple jump (45'5.75") and long jump (24'1"). Nationally, he holds the fifth-best long jump, the 14th-best 60-meters time and sits in the top 50 for the 200 meters and triple jump.
Perfecting His Craft: Senior Dylan Garretson is the other men's program record breaker from the year as he continues to set pole vaulting records. After winning last year's indoor meet with a height of 16 feet, 1.25 inches, Garretson's only improved. He currently sits third nationally with a height of 16 feet, 7.5 inches.
Throwing with Impact: Sophomore Evie Sanford is looking to repeat as the NCAC Champion in the shot put. She won last year's event with a throw of 40 feet, 2 inches and has already surpassed that mark this season. In fact, she has improved upon the school's shot-put record, currently sitting at 42 feet, 4.75 inches and good for 41st among Division III athletes. Senior Ainsley Wiesner did not see the podium last year but has steadily improved in the weight throw. She holds the current school record with a throw of 56 feet, 11.5 inches this year – a throw that would have been good enough for second in last year's competition. But for now, she sits 16th nationally in the event.
Going the Distance: Callender was at his best last year to earn him the honor of Distance Runner of the Year. His 3,000-meter time not only won the event but broke the school record at 8:40.60. His time in the 5,000 meters at 15:08.39 was good enough for third and was just a couple seconds short of the school record. On the women's side, senior Athena Tharenos will try her hand at claiming some distance titles. She has been running the 800, mile and 5,000-meter races this season. She has found herself within a second of the school record in the mile and a little over two seconds behind the 800 record.
Running and Jumping with Speed: While Hargrave is certainly a favorite in the 60 hurdles, Drew Patterson will try her hand in the 60 dash. She has a season-best time of 8.24 seconds this season. Furthermore, she will look to make noise in the high and triple jump. She currently sports the 40th best high jump (5'3.75") in the country and earned All-NCAC honors in the event last year. For the men, Lorenzo Freeman set a school record in the 60 hurdles with a second place showing last year. Luke Henke and Echo Kidd will look to repeat as All-NCAC performers in the high jump and triple jump, respectively.
Relay the Relay: The Wooster men claimed second last year in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:27.34. However, they'll most likely need to shed some time to reach the podium again. So far, the best 4x400 time from the team this season has been 3:32.18 at All-Ohio. The women will also need to do the same as their best time of 4:11.45 would be on the outside looking in compared to last year's top three. However, the distance medley relay team of Tharenos, Igna Mendez, Amy Gabrovsek and Zanna Anderson currently hold a top 50 time of 12:48.90 and could in contention for an All-NCAC performance.