Wieferich Aiming to Repeat as Conference Champ This Saturday

For The Week Of:
October 23, 2006

Written by Hugh Howard
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Katie Wieferich

Led by individual defending women?s champion Katie Wieferich (Marietta, Ohio / Marietta), The College of Wooster men?s and women?s cross country squads are ready to compete for league crowns this week, as the 23rd annual North Coast Athletic Conference Championships will take place on Saturday, Oct. 28. This season?s meet will be on the campus of Earlham College in Richmond, Ind., starting with the men?s 8K at 11 a.m. followed by the women?s 6K at noon. The awards presentation and official results will be announced at approximately 1 p.m.
In the pre-race poll, the Fighting Scots were picked to place fifth (women) and seventh (men) in the nine- and 10-team fields, respectively, which would be an improvement over their finishes from last year when the women were seventh and the men eighth. Denison University is the three-time defending women?s champion, however, Oberlin College is unanimously favored to take this year?s crown, while on the men?s side, two-time defending champ Allegheny College is a heavy favorite to win again.
Individually, Wieferich looks to become the first women?s harrier in Wooster history to win the NCAC Championships twice and fourth in conference history to do so. She would join the likes of Wittenberg University?s Abi Gerstle (2001-02), Shannon Fox of Oberlin (1995-96), and Allegheny?s Jennifer Shaver (1985-86). In 2005, Wieferich crossed the finish line 38 seconds ahead of her nearest competitor, cruising the 6K course at Denison in 22:30. This season, Wieferich has won three of the four races she?s competed in, highlighted by the All-Ohio Championships. In the men?s competition, three different Scots have combined to win six individual NCAC crowns, but none since Jason Kelley in 1991 (26:11).

Last Week: On Oct. 18, the Scots hosted the 7th annual Wooster Relays, competing with head coach Dennis Rice?s alma mater, Edinboro University, as well as Otterbein College in a unique non-scoring meet. The women's race consisted of 2000 meters, 1000 meters, 800 meters, and 1600 meters, with a seven-minute break between each, for a total of 5400 meters, while the men's portion was a 6800-meter race with intervals of 2000, 1000, 800, and 3000 meters.
On the women's side, Katie Wieferich (Marietta, Ohio / Marietta) landed a second-place finish in the field of 25, totaling 19:17, 16 seconds behind Edinboro's Rachel Lanzel. Ashley Zervos (Wheeling, W. Va. / Linsly School) clocked in a 21:01 for an 11th-place finish, with teammate Nicole Calderone (Grass Lake, Mich. / Greenhills School) right behind in 12th (21:07). Rouding out the top Wooster runners were Sarah Lloyd (Mt. Vernon, Wash. / Mount Vernon), who placed 14th (21:48), and Emily Elderbrock (Ashland, Ohio / Ashland), who took 16th (22:14).
For the men, Dave Thomas (Elyria, Ohio / Elyria) was the Scots' top placer, finishing 15th in the field of 26, with a time of 23:04. Mark DeWine (Annandale, Va. / Bishop Denis J. O?Connell), Rick Workman (Hillsboro, Ohio / Greenfield McClain), Terry Workman (Hillsboro, Ohio / Greenfield McClain), and Nathan Malcomb (Marietta, Ohio / Marietta) filed in at 17th (23:12), 18th (23:40), 19th (23:50), and 20th (23:51), respectively, to round out the top finishers. Edinboro's Dave Niemira won the event in 21:33.