Moorefield’s Running Career Goes from One Extreme to the Other

College athletics can often result in the lowest of lows and the highest of highs, and one who can certainly attest to that is Emily Moorefield, as she experienced each end of the spectrum thanks to a transfer from Muskingum College to The College of Wooster.

When it came to choosing a college, Moorefield, a graduate of nearby Triway High School where she had won the 1989 state championship in the 800 meters and placed among the top-five two other times at state track meets, wanted to leave the area, thus eliminating Wooster.

Muskingum, another NCAA Div. III institution in southeastern Ohio, was Moorefield's initial choice. Two years with the Muskies, though, were øa frustrating and unsuccessful time (both) athletically and academically," according to her. Moorefield then decided being close to home wouldn't be so bad. After all, Wooster was where her mom (Carlin Cremeans '68 Moorefield) and grandparents (Charles Cremeans í36 and Virginia Flory í35 Cremeans) attended.

The change in scenery, and coaches even more so, as well as taking the fall semester off from running, turned out to be just what she needed, as Moorefield went from being just another runner in the pack to one of the most accomplished women's athletes in Wooster history. In her first season with the Scots (1993 track) and head coach Dennis Rice, she won conference titles in the indoor 1000 meters (3:09.79) and the outdoor 800 meters (2:19.71).

øCoach was demanding and challenging, and determined to see me through training sessions I didn't think I was capable of," recalled Moorefield. øHe was an inspiration and a mentor in many, many ways. He had a team of wonderful people that I admired and respected. It was a wonderful, life-changing experience."

Moorefield's first full year with the Wooster program was 1993-94. Returning to cross country, she made a dramatic impact, taking second at the North Coast Athletic Conference Championships (19:01) and 18th at the NCAA Div. III Championships (18:15) for her first All-American certificate. The Shreve native carried that momentum over to the track, as Moorefield captured NCAC Runner-of-the-Year honors at both the indoor and outdoor meets. She increased her collection of conference championships to eight, including individual crowns in the indoor 1000 (3:05.19) and 1500 meters (4:47.62) and the outdoor 800 (2:18.5) and 1500 meters (4:44.65), and then wrapped up her track career with an All-American run, finishing fourth at the NCAA meet in the 1500 meters (4:38.70).

Moorefield had one more semester of cross country before graduating in December of 1994, and she was able to make another jump in her training and racing, making her final season, her best yet. She won individual titles at both the NCAC's (18:55) and the NCAA Div. III Great Lakes Regional Championships (18:02), capped by a fifth-place showing at nationals (18:03.6) for her third All-American honor.

Among the keys to Moorefield's success, according to Rice, were øa very strong work ethic," in terms of being able to handle a high workload running-wise without breaking down, being øextremely competitive," and successfully maintaining øbalance in her academics, social life, and running."

Those characteristics ring true today for Moorefield, who remains the lone Wooster harrier to be an All-American and still holds the school record in the outdoor 800 meters (2:14.86). She and her husband, Mike Mariola, own two downtown Wooster businesses ‚ Moorefield Pottery, an art gallery/studio, and South Market Bistro, a fine dining restaurant. They live on an 86-acre farm outside of Wooster, where they're restoring an 1832 stone house and raising a small herd of sheep, with son Ian Michael (2), and they're expecting another addition to the family any day now.