KateLynn Riley í09 demonstrated her versatility as an athlete over the weekend with a second place finish in the NCAC Heptathlon, improving her performance from last year by four places.
The other members of the track and field team got to enjoy a competitive, though non-scoring, meet last Friday at Oberlin. Together, the two events marked the final opportunity for team members to compete in their respective events before the NCAC Championships, which began today in Delaware, Ohio.
Rileyís impressive performance in the Heptathlon was kicked off with a win in the 100-meter hurdles, followed by a sixth place in the high jump, third place in both the 200-meter dash and shot put, fourth place in the long jump, second place in the javelin, and a fifth place in the 800-meter run (for a total of 3,892 points). She was beat out in the win by Oberlinís Madeline Schultz, who scored 4,386.
The Scots represented themselves well last Friday at Oberlin, with three men and four women each picking up individual wins, and another three men and four women picking up runner-up finishes.
The womenís wins came courtesy of Katharina Kroll í12 in the javelin, Miriam Wise í11 in the long jump, Elizabeth Wardrop í11 in the high jump and Kayla Miller ë09 in the triple jump.
Wardrop also picked up a second place in the long jump, with the other second place finishes by Natasha Blaise í12 in the 400 and 200, Whitney Rappole í11 in the 400 hurdles, and Sarah Appleton í12 who was narrowly beat out for first in the 3,000 meters.
The men were once again led by Eric Dyer í10 and Bryan Albani í10, joined this time by Josh Kime í10, who won the shot put. Dyer was first in the triple jump while Albani picked up his win in the 110-meter hurdles, and added to that with a second place in the 400 meter hurdles. Other second place finishers were Ramses Clements í10 in the triple jump and Robert McConnell í10 in the pole vault.
The team began their two-day Conference Championships today, with members of the team hoping to set season-best marks and cement a fine finish for the Scots.
Last year the men finished fifth in the 10 team field, while the women finished fourth out of nine. Both the men and women have the opportunity to improve on these finishes, with a number of strong scorers who have consistently improved throughout the season.
The conclusion of the meet will mean the conclusion of the season for most, with a few team members waiting to see how their NCAA Div. III National Championships qualifying times compare with the rest of the country.
If they are invited to compete at Nationals, they will continue training for the May 21-23 meet. That meet takes place this year in Marietta, Ohio.
Next season, the team will return the majority of its top runners. Dyer, Bryan Albani and Ramses Clements í10 all return after standout seasons this year.
For the women, Riley, Whitney Rappole í10, Kroll and Wise return next season. The team will lose Miller to graduation.