WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster track and field program swept all eight first-place finishes in the jumps and won 20 events overall en route to taking down Denison University 89-50 on the men's side and 77-58 on the women's on Thursday evening inside the Scot Center. Thursday's dual meet between North Coast Athletic Conference rivals was the second of a yearlong series consisting of a cross country, indoor track and field, and outdoor track and field dual meet. With Wooster's sweep, both teams have two victories, one each for the men and women, setting the stage for an epic rubber match when the outdoor dual meet takes place on April 17 at Denison.
On the women's side, sophomore Sarah Hiestand pole vaulted 9 feet, 0.25 inches, first-year Ellie Fox went 15 feet, 6 inches in the long jump, and senior Drew Patterson doubled-up on first-place efforts, going 34 feet in the triple jump and 5 feet, 1.25 inches in the high jump. Senior Dylan Garretson secured the jumps sweep by clearing 15 feet, 1 inch in the pole vault. Garretson went on to clear 15 feet, 10.5 inches before coming up just shy of upping his school record once the crossbar was elevated to 16 feet, 5.5 inches. Elsewhere, junior Vell Robinson took top honors in the long jump at 20 feet, 4.25 inches, junior Echo Kidd was the top performer in the triple jump, reaching 42 feet, 6 inches, and sophomore Essaie Mezmur cleared 6 feet, 1.5 inches to win the high jump.
Once the action turned to the track, junior Liam Regan, junior Cam Ray, first-year Cooper Norwell, and first-year King Jeju nearly took down the 4x200 relay school record. Their 1:32.32 was just off the 2020 school record of 1:32.15 set by Mark Herron, Drake Pence, Kristian Coleman, and national qualifier Will McMichael. Junior Daysia Hargrave nearly bettered an already-held school record in the 60-meter hurdles, with the 9.12 coming up just shy of the collegiate-best of 9.02. It was a similar story in the 60-meter dash, where Jeju continued to showcase a ton of promise, crossing at 7.07, just shy of his school record of 7.00.
Senior Athena Tharenos bolstered Wooster's lead from the jumps and played a crucial role in securing the meet victory. Tharenos posted top times in the mile (5:31.19) and 800 meters (2:27.50). Sophomore Evie Sanford won the shot put at 38 feet, 7.5 inches. On the men's side, junior Will Callender, a reigning NCAC Athlete of the Week, won the mile at 4:26.05, senior Joe Shilts broke the tape in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.57, and sophomore Zane DeMercurio was first to the finish in the 800 meters with a time of 2:05.89. Later, Jeju scored a third first-place finish, this time with a 22.96 in the 200 meters.
The final event of the night saw sophomore Izzy Cozzie, Hargrave, junior Igna Mendez, and Tharenos smoke Denison in the 4x400 relay. Wooster's 4:14.78 was nearly 12 seconds fastest than Denison's 4:26.65. The men's 4x400 relay saw Shilts, Ray, DeMercurio, and junior Drew Robertson post a comfortable five-plus second win at 3:36.11.
Next, Wooster hits the road for the first time, heading to Denison for the Bob Shannon Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 3. The meet is slated for an 11 a.m. start.