Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

2008 Season Preview

[ David Stefanik ] With 7 seniors and 3 All-North Coast Athletic Conference selections returning, Ohio Wesleyan head coach Kris Boey and associate head coach Matt Wackerly look for the Battling Bishops to improve on last year's fourth-place finish and contend for the NCAC championship.

Leading the way for the Bishops will be senior David Stefanik (Wooster). A second-team All-NCAC selection for the second straight season, Stefanik placed 11th at last year's conference championship meet.

Senior Clay Davis (Dublin/Coffman) was a second-team All-NCAC performer as well, finishing 13th in the conference meet, and senior Gary Brenneman (Fredericktown) was an honorable mention choice after finishing 19th.

Senior Alex Havran (Woodinville, Wash./Overlake) led the Bishops in one meet and scored in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet in 2006 and will look to build on a 2008 track season in which he won all-conference honors in the 3000-meter steeplechase and ran on the Bishops' school-record distance medley relay team.

Seniors Garret Andre-Johnson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Berkeley), Andrew Bloom (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne), and Scott Williams (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) also are returning lettermen. During the 2008 track season, Andre-Johnson also was part of the Bishop distance medley relay team, while Bloom set a school record in the decathlon.

[ Clay Davis ] "Last year, we had graduated a large class of seniors from our 2006 team which finished second in the conference. A lot of these guys had on-the-job training and had to take on a larger role, which ultimately prepared them for what we will ask of them this year," Boey said. "Having a large, experienced, well-prepared senior class can only benefit your team. They've run a lot of big events. We have talented freshman and underclass groups, but the seniors will be the heart of this team."

"This is one of the most focused groups I've seen," Wackerly said. "They know how to race well, they're smart and they're great runners."

Junior Christian Schlabach (Wooster/Triway) led the Bishops in their first 2 meets of the 2007 season, and sophomores Jeff Driscoll (Shreve/Triway), Cody Morrison (Caldwell), and John Thatcher (Centerburg) contributed during their first season of collegiate cross country, with Thatcher also placing in the 3000-meter run during track season.

Junior Matthew MacKenzie (Franklin, Mass.), who won all-conference honors in the 800-meter run last year, and sophomore Kyle Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls), another member of the Bishops distance medley relay team, also look to parlay successful track seasons into increased roles in cross country.

"One good season leads to another," Boey said. "We had a good cross country season last year, but I think it's more important to look back to last track season. Distance running is a very cumulative endeavor where you continue to build and develop your abilities."

Newcomers who should contribute include freshman John Batchelder (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne), a state qualifier in cross country who was a member of a state champion 3200-meter relay team in high school; freshman Evan Hitchcock (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern), a regional qualifier in high school; freshman Sharif Kronemer (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook), an all-state performer in track in high school; and freshman Kyle Lemke (Loudonville), a regional qualifier in track in high school.

The Bishops' season opens on Aug. 30 at the Dayton Flyer Invitational. The schedule includes major meets such as the Great Lakes Colleges Association meet on Sept. 13 at Oberlin, hosting the All-Ohio Intercollegiate Championship on Oct. 10, and the NCAC championship meet on Nov. 1 at Oberlin.