Wieferich-Led Scots to Run With Best in Buckeye State

For The Week Of:
October 2, 2006

Written by Hugh Howard
330-263-2374
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Katie Wieferich

Katie Wieferich (Marietta, Ohio / Marietta) will attempt to win the NCAA Div. III portion of the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Cross Country Championships for the second-straight season, as The College of Wooster will take part in the annual event, along with approximately 40 other schools across the Buckeye State, this Friday, Oct. 6. The meet, held at the Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio, brings together harriers from NCAA Div. I, II, and III schools and NAIA institutions for a unique competition. The schedule begins with the men?s 8K championship at 2 p.m., followed 45 minutes later by the women?s 5K championship. Additionally, there will be open divisions, as a men?s open race and a women?s open race will take place at 3:30 p.m., and 4:15 p.m., respectively. Last season, Wieferich was the first Div. III finisher and ninth overall out of 275 harriers with a time of 18:38.8, leading the Wooster women to a 25th-place showing (11th of 20 in Div. III), while the Scot men were 29th overall and 13th in Div. III.

Last Meet: On Sept. 23, Wooster senior standout Katie Wieferich (Marietta, Ohio / Marietta) won her second race of the year, setting a new course record in the process, in leading her team to a third-place finish at the Wooster Invitational. Case Western Reserve University won the women?s team competition with 23 points and Ashland University placed second (53). The Scots tallied 72 points to finish ahead of Kenyon College (88), Notre Dame (Ohio) College (132), Ursuline College (194), Hiram College (196), and Cuyahoga Community College (223). Wieferich, a two-time track All-American, cruised the 5K course in 17:50, over one minute ahead of the runner-up (18:51). Also in the top-20 for Wooster was Nicole Calderone (Grass Lake, Mich. / Greenhills School), who placed 12th overall (20:23), and Ashely Zervos (Wheeling, W. Va. / Linsly School), who placed 14th (20:34). Caitlin O?Riordan (Chagrin Falls, Ohio / Chagrin Falls) and Sarah Lloyd (Mt. Vernon, Wash. / Mount Vernon) rounded out the Scots? scorers, coming in 21st (21:33) and 25th (21:45), respectively.
On the men?s side, Wooster placed fourth of six teams, scoring 102 points, behind Ashland (16), Case (50), and Kenyon (97), and ahead of Notre Dame (121) and Hiram (190). Individually, Rudy Gilman (Silverton, Ore. / Silverton Union) and David Thomas (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) finished neck-and-neck to lead the Scots, placing 16th (27:59.01) and 17th (27:59.75), respectively. Also in the top-20 was Mark DeWine (Annandale, Va. / Bishop Denis J. O?Connell), who placed 20th exactly with a time of 28:25, and completing their scorers were freshmen Jeff Jacobs (Wilmette, Ill. / New Trier Twp.) in 34th (29:08), and Rick Workman (Hillsboro, Ohio / Greenfield McClain) in 37th (29:20).