NCAC Championship Central | Championship Host Site
This Week's Outlook: The College of Wooster men's and women's outdoor track & field teams travel to Ohio Wesleyan University for the 2023 North Coast Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Friday and Saturday. Track events start at noon on Friday, while track events start at 3 p.m. with the men's 3000-meter steeplechase. Saturday's action starts at 10 a.m. for field events and 2:15 p.m. for track events.
Spectator Information: Tickets are $5 per day for adults and $3 for children 18 and under. An All-session pass for adults can be purchased for $10. NCAC students with their NCAC Institution ID will get in free.
Media Coverage: Live streaming and live results are available for the NCAC Championships from the host school Ohio Wesleyan. Fans can also follow the track and field team's Twitter account @WoosterXCTF for periodic updates. Check woosterathletics.com for end-of-day recaps or the links up top for additional information.
A Quick Look at the Polls: In voting by conference coaches, the Wabash College men and the Wittenberg University women are the favorites entering the meet. Wabash was the unanimous selection, claiming all seven first-place votes for 49 points. Wooster was selected sixth in the seven-team field. For the women, Wittenberg claimed five first-place votes for 61 points. Wooster was selected to finish fifth with 34 points.
Heptathlon/Decathlon Recap: Senior Claudia Partridge came just shy of earning All-NCAC honors in the heptathlon last weekend, finishing in fourth place with 3,395 points. She excelled at the high jump, taking the top height at five feet, one inch. First-year Anaya Brady also competed for the women, securing ninth place at 2,103 points. Partridge gave the Scots five points for team-scoring entering the weekend. Wooster did not fill a spot in the decathlon.
Looking Back at Last Year's Championships: The women placed sixth of eight teams with 84.5 points, while the men finished seventh of nine with 69.5 points. Altogether, Wooster collected four titles and 12 all-conference certificates. Will McMichael won his fourth 400 meters title, and Maya Vasta capped off her career with 10 All-NCAC honors. Claiming victories on the first day were Dylan Garretson (pole vault), Echo Kidd (long jump) and Isabelle Hoover (10,000 meters).
Tops in the Nation: Currently, the Scots have three women and four men inside the top 50 of their respected events across Division III. Drew Patterson is 25th in the high jump at five feet, 4.25 inches; Athena Tharenosis 27th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 11:08.22; and Ainsley Wiesner is 42nd in the hammer throw at 159 feet, 10 inches. The men have two in the pole vault in Garretson (16'2.75") and Davis Patterson (15'9.25") after his performance last weekend at the Denison Invitational. Garretson is ranked seventh, and Patterson sits 17th. Kidd is 28th in the long jump at 23 feet, 4.5 inches, and McMichael is 47th in the 400 meters at 48.51 seconds.
A Look at the Record Book So Far: Wiesner broke the school record in the hammer throw to open the outdoor season and has only gotten better, sitting currently at the mark of 159 feet, 10 inches. First-year Evie Sanford topped the record book in the discus throw at 132 feet, two inches in just the second meet of the season. Garretson sits atop the pole vault record at 16'2.75." Others find themselves near the top as Davis Patterson is second behind Garretson at 15 feet, 9.25 inches in the pole vault. Conor Greene threw a personal best in the hammer throw last time out to tie for second in the record book (140 feet, five inches). Morgan Kromer's vault at the All-Ohio Championships put her second in the books at 11 feet, three inches.
11 All-Ohio Honors: In April, the teams turned in sixth place finishes at the 2023 All-Ohio Championships where 11 individuals earned All-Ohio honors. The women totaled five All-Ohio performances and three event titles, while men totaled six All-Ohio honors and two event titles. Patterson (high jump), Tharenos (3,000-meter steeplechase) and Hoover (5,000-meter run) all claimed victories. Tharenos joined Haley Bloom, Izzy Cozzie and Igna Mendez for honors in the 4x400. Kromer also gained All-Ohio honors in the pole vault. For the men, Garretson (pole vault) and Luke Henke (high jump) won their events, while Patterson (pole vault), Will Callender (5,000 run), Kidd (long jump) and Drew Robertson (long jump) also claimed All-Ohio honors.