Wooster Gets Outdoor Season Underway With a Pair of Non-Scoring Meets

Kayla Miller

The College of Wooster outdoor track & field teams competed in a pair of non-scoring meets during spring break, first participating at the Shamrock Invitational (March 16-17), hosted by Coastal Carolina Univ., where they were amongst a field of primarily NCAA Div. I schools, and then at the Lynchburg Invitational (March 24).

Triple jumpers Tristan Jordan and Kayla Miller were the only Fighting Scots to finish among the top-10 at the highly-competitive Shamrock Invitational. Both placed fourth, with Jordan doing so in the men’s field via a mark of 44 feet, 3.25 inches, and Miller in the women’s division, hitting 34 feet, 4 inches.

At the Lynchburg Invitational, Wooster had a number of top performances, led by Jeff Jacobs’ individual victory in the 3000-meter steeplechase (11:30.65). He edged out teammate Gabe Topping, who was the runner-up (11:42.58). Other distance events saw the Scots earn success as well, as they added second-place finishes in the 5000 meters from Jeff Dolan (18:08.89) and in the 10,000 from Bryan Loy (36:01.37).

Wooster was strong in the triple jump again, too, putting three in the top-five, led by Jordan in second (43 feet, 2.25 inches). Complementing him were Eric Dyer in third (42 feet, 3.25 inches) and Averell Gatton in fifth (38 feet, 6 inches).

Rounding out the Scots’ top-five men’s finishers were Rob Kelm’s third-place run in the 400-meter hurdles (59.74) and Matt Jensen’s fifth-place effort in the 110 hurdles (16.07).

In women’s action, Wooster’s top individual showing came from Erin Byrne, who was the runner-up in the 5000 meters (22:48.52), while Miller had another strong meet again. She was top-five in a pair of events – third in the triple jump (33 feet, 9.5 inches) and fourth in the high jump (4 feet, 11.75 inches).

Also leading the Scots was Ali Drushal, who came in third in both the 400-meter hurdles (1:10.40) and javelin (114 feet, 3 inches).

Next, Wooster returns north to host its lone meet of the spring – the Wooster Invitational – this Saturday at 11 a.m.