Two Win Major NCAC Awards as Teams Place Fourth at Championships

GAMBIER – Two from the College of Wooster track and field teams claimed major awards as the North Coast Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships wrapped up Saturday at Kenyon College.

First-year King Jeju was named the NCAC Newcomer of the Year as well as the Indoor Field Athlete of the Year after taking two titles and four All-NCAC honors across the two days.

Junior Will Callender was named the Distance Runner of the Year for the second consecutive year. Callender won the 5000 race on Friday and followed Saturday with a second place finish in the 3000.

His time in the 3000 meters at 8:39.94 not only claimed All-NCAC honors but upped his own school record in the process.

JeJu was just about everywhere this weekend, competing in five events.

On Saturday, Jeju took the title in the 200 meters at 22.28 seconds, being the first Fighting Scot to win the event at the conference meet.

Jeju earned All-NCAC honors in the triple jump, placing second with a jump of 44 feet, 11.75 inches. He also earned All-NCAC honors in the 60 meters, finishing third with a time of 6.94 seconds.

This followed his long jump win on Friday.

Overall, the men finished fourth with 90 points, behind the 130 points from the champion Wittenberg Tigers. The women also finished fourth but with 79 points and behind the champion Tigers, who scored 191.5 points.

Wooster had more champions on the day, including senior Dylan Garretson who earned a third indoor title in the pole vault, reaching 16 feet, .75 inches.

Evie Sanford repeated as champion in the shot put, throwing 41 feet, three inches. Ainsley Wiesner scored for Wooster, finishing fourth (36 feet, 11 inches).

Daysia Hargrave earned the title in the 60 hurdles, placing first with a time of 8.88 seconds. Mary Sirois (9.67) and Clare Mackin (9.75) finished in seventh and eighth, respectively.

Senior Drew Patterson was one of three to reach five feet, one inch in the high jump and it was good enough to tie her for second for All-NCAC honors.

Sophomore Lorenzo Freeman finished second in a photo finish in the 60 hurdles. While he ran an 8.41 for a new school record, the time had to be broken down further to declare a winner. His time of 8.409 was off from the first place time of 8.405.

Scoring points for the Scots in other events, Drew Robertson was 1.19 seconds off from All-NCAC honors in the mile, finishing in fourth at 4:25.69.

In the high jump, Echo Kidd and Essaie Mezmur each jumped 6 feet, .75 inches to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.

The 4x200 team of Will Harris II, Liam Regan, Cooper Norwell and Jeju finished seventh in the 4x200 (1:32.25). They were .10 seconds off from tying the school record.

The 4x400 team also finished seventh (3:31.20) behind the team of Joe Shilts, Cam Ray, Zane DeMercurio and Regan.

On the women's side, senior Athena Tharenos finished just outside All-NCAC honors in the 1 mile, finishing fourth in 5:21.49. She also placed seventh (10:38.31) in the 3000 meters.

The 4x200 team of Patterson, Claire Davis, Maia Doescher and Izzy Cozzie finished sixth (1:49.54).

Later, Cozzie, Igna Mendez, Tharenos and Hargrave finished fourth in the 4x400 with a time of 4:09,83.

In the triple jump, Davis finished seventh (33 feet, 5.75 inches).

Next, the Scots will comopete at the Mount Union Final Qualifier March 1.

Photo courtesy Dani Johnson of the North Coast Athletic Conference.