William McMichael

Claudia Partridge

OBERLIN, Ohio – A small contingent of Fighting Scots kicked off The College of Wooster's track and field season at Friday evening's non-scoring Dan Kinsey Invitational, which was hosted by Oberlin College.

Sophomores William McMichael and Claudia Partridge picked up right where their respective rookies seasons left off. McMichael's time of 53.48 broke the tape in the 400 meters, and it was over two seconds better than the runner-up clip of 55.76 turned in by Westminster College's (Pa.) Cole Keister. Partridge cleared 5 feet, 3.75 inches in the high jump to lead a field of seven competitors.

Junior Drake Pence delivered a strong showing in the season lid-lifter with the runner-up time of 7.24 in the 60-meter dash and the third-place time of 23.37 in the 200 meters. Pence's time in the 60-meter dash was just seventh hundredths of a second off Ben Kingstone's school record set back in 2016.

McMichael rounded out the competitors on the men's side. He finished sixth in the 200 meters at 23.94.

Sophomore Kayla Bertholf turned in third-place times of 5:44.00 and 11:43.84 in the mile and 3,000 meters, respectively, to lead the way among the women's running events. Classmate Maya Vasta placed four in the 200 meters (28.63) and sixth in the 60-meter hurdles (10.65), while Partridge was ninth in the 200 at 29.60.

Sophomore Rachel Osterhouse rounded out the competitors. Her time of 12:05.23 was the sixth-fastest in the 3,000 meters.

Next, Wooster's home for three straight meets, starting with the Wooster Tri-Meet on Saturday, January 18. Field events are slated for a noon start, with track events set to start at 2:30 p.m.