It’s hard to imagine an all-American not expecting to excel,
but according to Clarissa Roberts-Sprouse, when she enrolled at The
College of Wooster in 1990, she had no idea how remarkable her
athletic career would be.
“Being an okay athlete (at North Olmsted) High School, I came to Wooster expecting to continue having fun in sports,” Roberts remembered. “But with great coaching, amazing teammates, and a tremendous amount of hard work, I was able to achieve a great deal more.”
Roberts is so humble, she was surprised to be named a starter on the women’s soccer team as a first-year player. Little did she know she would become a staple in the defensive backfield, playing as the starting sweeper during her entire four-year collegiate career. Roberts experienced her share of success as a soccer player, earning honorable mention on the All-North Coast Athletic Conference Team twice (1991, 1993) and playing a large role on back-to-back NCAC championships in 1990 and 1991.
As taken aback as Roberts was to make her mark on the soccer pitch, it would be her accomplishments on the track that would prove even more astonishing.
Initially, Roberts’ track career did not appear that it would turn out all that noteworthy. As a freshman, she found moderate success in the 200 meters with a team-best time of 27.7 seconds, however, she took dramatic strides and became one of the best long sprinters the conference has ever seen.
Over the next two years, Roberts won six NCAC championships and placed second in three other events. During NCAC competition as a sophomore, she would finish first in the 400 meters both indoors (1:00.98) and outdoors (59.13), while also teaming up for a victory in the outdoor 4x100 relay (50.92). The 1993 season saw her and her teammates take the 4x400-meter relay crown (4:17.59) at the indoor NCAC Championships and then she won the individual 400 race (58.54) and the 4x100 relay again (49.97) outdoors at NCAC’s.
Roberts would then orchestrate one of the greatest track seasons in Fighting Scot history as a senior, winning four NCAC individual titles and becoming the first and still only indoor track all-American in program history. Roberts placed first in the 4x400-meter relay (4:12.56) as well as in the 400 meters (59:18) at the conference meet (indoor), with the latter being an NCAA Div. III Championships provisional-qualifying time. She would go on to place fourth overall at nationals with a 58.88 time, which remains the school record for the indoor 400 meters.
Wrapping up her career that spring, Roberts would win the NCAC’s 400 meters (59.05) one last time and she also helped the 4x400 relay (4:09.63) to a title, giving her 10 total conference championships (five individual, five relay). Roberts also reached the NCAA Championships (outdoors) in the 400.
More impressive yet, Roberts was the recipient of an NCAA postgraduate scholarship– one of the most prestigious honors a student-athlete can receive as it combines academic, athletic, and community service excellence. She was the first female at Wooster to garner the award.
With a bachelor’s degree in history (secondary education minor), Roberts has gone on to teach middle school social studies and science in California, Maryland, Virginia, Colorado, and even on a U.S. Army base in Germany. Currently she resides in Westminster, Colo., with her husband Waverly, and their four-month old son, Sawyer Reed. Along with her new passions for hiking, mountain biking, and rock climbing, Roberts still runs and plays soccer.