VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia – For the second straight year, the NCAA Div. III Indoor Track and Field Championships was a historic moment for The College of Wooster, which saw Ainsley Wiesner become the first women's thrower to earn All-America honors. The fifth-place weight thrower earned first-team All-America laurels, while senior pole vaulter Dylan Garretson earned All-America honors for the second time as a second-team performer. First-year long jumper King Jeju earned second-team All-America honors in his national debut.
Wiesner started hot and stuck to the game plan of attacking the right sector line of the weight throw scoring area. Her efforts were rewarded with a second toss of 60 feet, 9.25 inches, which marked her fifth time upping the school record over her last six meets. Wiesner won her flight and entered finals in third-place. There, Wiesner's successful throws measured out to 54 feet, 1.75 inches and 55 feet, 10.25 inches.
"This is a super honor for Ainsley to come to the national championships and compete with the top women in the country," said head coach Dennis Rice. "Having the opportunity to earn NCAA All-America status is a special award that takes a lot of hard work, dedication, and commitment to achieve this kind of success, and we are super proud of her. Coach Carson Kinney put together an amazing approach for the national championships. He has done a super job developing Ainsley over the last three years from a developmental thrower to not just getting to the national championships, but to achieve All-America status."
Of note, Wiesner's fifth-place finish marked a 10-spot improvement from her seed. She is Wooster's third women's indoor All-American, and her fifth-place finish is the highest since alumna Hilary Coady was the 2016 outdoor runner-up in the heptathlon.
Garretson joined Wooster legends Manny Stone, Reggie Ray, and Lu Wims as a multi-time All-American with a 10th-place finish in the pole vault. Garretson entered the competition once the crossbar was raised to 15 feet, 6.25 inches and cleared that progression and 16 feet on his first try. Garretson was unable to get over the crossbar once it was raised to 16 feet, 2 inches.
"Being a senior, Dylan had great experience coming into the national championships," shared Rice. "He has developed and learned over time what it takes to compete at the national level. To achieve second-team All-America status is another big, special honor. Any time you can be an All-American is very special. Coach Ken DeBos has really great connections with our pole vaulters and is a great teacher and motivator for all of them."
Jeju opened his first Div. III Championships with a long jump of 22 feet, 4.5 inches. He posted a near-identical 22 feet, 4.25 inches on attempt two, then reached 22 feet, 6.25 inches on his final try for a 14th-place finish. The All-America honor capped a banner year for the first-year, who was the North Coast Athletic Conference Field Athlete and Newcomer of the Year, and broke the program's 60-meter dash, 200 meters, long jump, and triple jump records.
"We wanted King to learn and grow from this experience for the future," wrapped up Rice. "You cannot top achieving All-America status as a first-year. Coach Ellie Jindra did a phenomenal job this year working with King to maximize his untapped potential. We were excited for King to be able to come here and compete against the best jumpers in the country to gain that experience at the national level."
Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Alexis Boykin won the weight throw (65 feet, 6.75 inches), Millikin University's Kyle Hensley took the pole vault title (17 feet), and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh's Joshua Rivers was the long jump national champion at 24 feet, 10.5 inches.
Wooster starts its outdoor slate at the Alan Connie Shamrock Invitational on Thursday, March 14.
