at NCAA Division III championship

Sophomore Zoe Ward (Columbus/Worthington Christian) will represent Ohio Wesleyan at the NCAA Division III championship meet, to be held on Saturday at the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind., and hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, it was announced on Sunday by the NCAA.  The women's race is scheduled for 11 a.m. Eastern time.

Ward will be making her first appearance at the NCAA Division III championship meet.  Ward is the first Ohio Wesleyan runner to qualify for the national championship meet since 2016, when Sarah Fowler made the last of 4 consecutive championship appearances.

Ward finished ninth among individuals in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional championship meet on Saturday in Shelbyville, Ind.  She covered the 6000-meter course in 22:10.02 to win all-region honors for the second consecutive season.  The sixth-place finish was her best in a regional championship meet, improving on her 26th-place finish in 2023.

On Nov. 3, Ward ran on the national championship course when Ohio Wesleyan competed at the North Coast Athletic Conference championship meet.  Ward finished third among individuals, completing the 6000-meter course in 22:14.51 to win first-team all-conference honors, as Ohio Wesleyan finished third.

NCAA Division III championship release
NCAA Division III championship meet site