Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

2009 Season Preview

[ Lainey Kekic ] Last year, the Ohio Wesleyan women's track & field team won the North Coast Athletic Conference indoor championship, but finished second in the outdoor title chase, foiling the Bishops' bid to complete back-to-back conference championship sweeps and putting head coach Kris Boey and the Battling Bishops in the position of both defending and seeking to reclaim a conference crown.

"We want to continue to establish ourselves as the best in the NCAC," Boey said. "It will be hard to replace some of the people we've lost, but we have areas where we haven't traditionally been strong which will be better. Our No. 1 goal is to win the conference championship, but I think we can be represented on the national level as well."

Sophomore Lainey Kekic (Canfield/Western Reserve), who won all-conference honors in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and ran on a pair of league champion relay teams indoors, is the Bishops' top returning sprinter.

Junior Ashlie Britton (LeRoy/Painesville Riverside), another member of the Bishops' indoor champion 800-meter relay team and holder of Ohio Wesleyan's school record in the 100-meter hurdles, will fill an increased role this season.

Sophomore Christa Cocumelli (Dublin/Bishop Watterson) placed in the 100-meter hurdles last year, while senior Jessica Merrill (Columbia Station/Columbia) placed in the 400-meter hurdles. Junior Rowena Jones (Shutesbury, Mass./Amherst Regional) also returns, and freshmen Marissa Ballard (Columbus/Centerburg), Deanna Breaux (Bossier City, La./Parkway) and Ginger Willinger (Lexington, Mass.) will be counted on to contribute.

[ Jessica Merrill ] In the jumps, Merrill won All-NCAC honors in the long jump and placed in the triple jump and the high jump last year, as well as placing in the heptathlon. Kekic was an all-conference honoree in the high jump, and junior Sarah Shinn (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) will look to contribute in the long jump. Freshman Chelsea Imm (Glandorf/Ottawa-Glandorf), an all-state performer in high school, will help in the pole vault.

In the middle distance events, Boey welcomes the return of Shinn, who missed the entire track season. In 2007, she swept NCAC indoor and outdoor titles in the 800-meter run, setting a conference record outdoors, and qualified for the NCAA Division III indoor championship meet.

Sophomore Rachael Newman (Strongsville) was the conference runner-up in the 800-meter run both indoors and outdoors last year, also winning All-NCAC laurels on the 1600-meter relay team. Junior Amber Alegria (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic), who placed in the 400-meter dash at the NCAC outdoor meet; and senior Caitlin Chesnut (Wilmington) also return, with freshmen Makinzie Krebsbach ( Vadnais Heights, Minn./Totino-Grace) and Maggie O'Connell (Hingham, Mass.) looking to make an impact.

[ Claire Everhart ] Junior Claire Everhart (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) won the mile run at last year's indoor meet and was runner-up in the 1500-meter run outdoors, and sophomore Kat Zimmerly (Edinboro, Pa./General McLane) was the conference champion in the 3000-meter steeplechase last year.

Junior Kara Reiter (Chardon) won all-conference honors as a member of the Bishops' 1600-meter relay team both indoors and outdoors last year. Freshmen Kate Battle (Miami, Fla./Gulliver Prep) and Emma Lisull (Ann Arbor, MI/Greenhills) should be heard from as well.

Senior Laura Binkley (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) placed in both 5000- and 10,000-meter runs last year, while senior Leah Schmelzer (Marion/Pleasant) placed in the 5000-meter run and the 3000-meter steeplechase.

Sophomore Jesi Dackin (Reynoldsburg) placed in the 10,000-meter run a year ago, and freshman Allie Nichols (Mansfield/Lexington) should further impact the Bishop distance corps.

[ Sharon Rymut ] In the throws, junior Sharon Rymut (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) won the discus and took all-conference honors in the hammer last year, also placing in the shot put both indoors and outdoors.

Freshman Hannah Phlipot (Van Wert) will be heard from immediately in the shot put and discus, along with freshman Sam Smyth (Falmouth, Maine) in the shot put and freshman Rachel King (Cuyahoga Falls) in the discus.

Ohio Wesleyan opens the indoor season on Dec. 6 at Capital. The indoor schedule gets into full swing on January 17 at the Capital Invitational, the NCAC championship meet will be held March 6-7 at Denison and the NCAA Division III championship will be held March 13-14 at Rose-Hulman. The outdoor season opens on March 21 at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird, and features the annual Marv Frye Invitational on April 4, the annual All-Ohio Division III championship meet on April 11 and the NCAC championship meet on May 1-2 before finishing with the NCAA Division III championship May 21-23 at Marietta.

Back to the main Women's Track & Field page