The Ohio Wesleyan women's track & field team successfully defended its North Coast Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor championships last season, and head coach Kris Boey and the Battling Bishops look to make more history by extending those strings to 10 consecutive indoor conference titles and 8 consecutive outdoor championships, continuing the best sustained performance in Ohio Wesleyan history.
"We've established a great tradition in the NCAC," Boey said, "and while that serves as a great foundation, it's in the past, and we have to be focused on the future in order to continue to accomplish great things as a team. Our goal is to crack the top 10 at the NCAA Division III championship meet while having a balanced and complete team, and this year could be our best shot at doing that. We have more returnees with national-meet experience than we've ever had, and newcomers who can achieve at that level in their first year."
Boey looks to the sprints and hurdles to be one of the Bishops' strengths in 2016.
Junior Sierra Wright (Loudonville) was a part of 4 conference champion relay teams in 2015 and added all-conference honors in the 400-meter dash. Sophomore Amanda Clay (Van Wert) won all-conference honors in the 60- and 100-meter dashes and was part of 2 conference champion relay teams. Junior Mallory McCormick (Gahanna/Bishop Hartley) placed in the 400- and 200-meter dashes and was part of 2 conference champion relay teams.
Senior Sara Johnson (Dublin/Coffman) is the top returnee in the hurdles. She competed in the NCAA Division III national championship meet in both the 60- and 100-meter events, and won all-conference honors in 6 individual events and as part of 2 relay teams in 2015.
The jumps look to be another Bishop stronghold.
Sophomore Emily Brown (New Concord/John Glenn) competed in the NCAA Division III championship meet in the long jump, placed in the long jump and triple jump as well as the 200-meter dash, and was part of 2 conference champion relay teams.
Sophomore Meg Teitelman (Concord, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) placed in the long jump and high jump both indoors and outdoors, senior Amy Greenwood (Granville) placed in the indoor triple jump, and junior MaryKate Caja (Lakewood/St. Joseph Academy) placed in the outdoor long jump. Freshman Alyssa Acevedo (Medina) looks to contribute right away in the jumps and the hurdles.
Sophomore Kelsie Steinmetz (Toledo/Notre Dame Academy), sophomore Anna Massara (Forest/Upper Sandusky), and sophomore Nicole Rozsa (Silver Lake/Cuyahoga Falls) each won All-NCAC honors in the pole vault, while sophomore Rebecca Penrod (Delaware/Buckeye Valley) place in the pole vault both indoors and outdoors and junior Mariah Hicks (Ashville/Teays Valley) also returns in the event.
Ohio Wesleyan returns a solid distance corps. Senior Abbey Warth (Massillon/Tuslaw) won All-America honors the 1500-meter run at last spring's NCAA Division III national championship meet; junior Sarah Fowler (Mount Vernon/Fredericktown) competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the 2015 NCAA Division III national championship meet, finishing one spot out of All-America recognition; and sophomore Rheanna Wilson (Cambridge/New Concord John Glenn) also returns.
In the middle distances, sophomore Rachell Resnik (Van Buren) placed in the 800-meter run last spring, and freshman Rachel Bush (Mount Gilead) should make an immediate impact.
Senior Sarah Alflen (Avon Lake) won all-conference citations in the hammer and shot put last year and leads the returnees in the throws. Senior Sarah Cooper (Zanesville/Maysville) placed in the weight throw and the hammer, and senior Meigan Day (Port Clinton) placed in the javelin last year. Junior Rachel Charles (West Bloomfield, Mich./Detroit Country Day) also returns, and freshman Leah Nathanson (Newton, Mass./South) will contribute in the javelin.
The Ohio Wesleyan multi-event corps should be one of the conference's best. Teitelman placed in both the pentathlon last winter and the heptathlon last spring. Brown placed in the heptathlon as well as 4 other events last year, Day placed in the heptathlon in 2014, and Acevedo will be heard from.
Ohio Wesleyan opens the indoor season on Dec. 5 at Tiffin. The indoor schedule gets into full swing on January 15 with the OWU Triangular, the NCAC championship meet will be held March 4-5 at Kenyon and the NCAA Division III championship will be held March 11-12 at Grinnell, Iowa. The outdoor season opens on March 19 at the Muskie Duals meet, and features the annual Marv Frye Invitational on April 9, the annual All-Ohio Division III championship meet on April 16 and the NCAC championship meet on May 6-7 at Denison before the NCAA Division III championship May 26-28 at Waverly, Iowa.
