Ohio Wesleyan Track & Field/Cross Country History

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Ohio Wesleyan Men's Track & Field Records

1902

Ohio Wesleyan joins Case Tech, Kenyon, Oberlin, Ohio State and Western Reserve University in forming the Ohio Athletic Conference.

1928

Dwight Kane '29 wins the 120-yard high hurdles at the NCAA outdoor track & field championship meet, at the time one meet encompassing all member colleges. Kane wins the race in :14.7 to become Ohio Wesleyan's first national champion.

1929

Selby Field, designed by football and track coach George Gauthier, opens in style as the Bishop football team tops Marietta, 52-0, before a crowd of 9000 on Sept. 18. The field was formally dedicated on Oct. 19 of that year, with the Bishops defeating Miami, 20-12. The new home of the football and track teams is named after George D. Selby, who served the Ohio Wesleyan board of trustees for 24 years.

1946

Quentin Brelsford '48 wins the NCAA cross country championship, then one race encompassing all divisions, to become Ohio Wesleyan's first national champion in cross country.

1976

The Branch Rickey Center opens its doors for the fall 1976 sports season. The following January, the Bishops defeat Ohio Northern, 77-59, in the first intercollegiate track meet held in the field house.

The field house, later christened Gordon Field House in recognition of the gift of Richard Gordon '62, becomes the home of the OAC championship and the OAISW state title indoor track meets and later is the site of the first 9 NCAC indoor track championship meets. The field house track, resurfaced in time for the 1995 season, now is a 200-meter track with a rubber-polyurethane subsurface.

1981

John Timmons '82 wins the NCAA regional cross country championship and goes on to earn All-America honors at the NCAA Division III national championship.

Sabrina Spencer '82 finishes third in the long jump at the Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) national championship meet to become Ohio Wesleyan's first All-American in women's track and field.

1982

Julie Bredenbeck '84 wins the NCAA Division III discus championship and also takes All-America honors in the shot put. Liz Phelps '84 takes the first of 3 straight All-America honors in the heptathlon.

Mary Parker founds the Centennial Athletic Conference, the first conference in the nation formed specifically for women's teams. Denison, Muskingum, Oberlin, Ohio Northern, Wittenberg and Wooster join Ohio Wesleyan as charter members. Parker serves as the conference's first president.

Carol Corbett '85 finishes 19th in the NCAA Division III women's cross country championship meet, becoming Ohio Wesleyan's first women's cross country All-American.

1983

Ohio Wesleyan leaves the Ohio Athletic Conference and the Centennial Athletic Conference to join Allegheny, Case Reserve, Denison, Kenyon, Oberlin and Wooster in founding the North Coast Athletic Conference, with play to begin in the 1984-85 academic year. The NCAC is the first conference to treat men's and women's sports equally from its inception.

1985

The all-weather George Gauthier Track is installed at Selby Field and becomes the site of 16 of the first 23 North Coast Athletic Conference championship meets. Its Polytan surface is widely regarded as one of the best in Ohio. Selby Field would soon begin a restoration project that includes a new, 2-level press box, new bleacher seats and refurbished locker rooms. The facility becomes the annual host of the Division III All-Ohio Track & Field championship meet, the NCAC championship meet and the high school Midwest Meet of Champions.

1989

The men's indoor track team wins its first NCAC championship. The Bishops win the final event, the mile relay, by 4/100 of a second to defeat Denison, 126-125 1/2, for the title. Keith Rucker '92 was named the Most Valuable field performer after winning the shot put. Chris Apel '92 was named the Most Valuable runner after winning the 300- and 440-yard dashes.

The women's indoor track tean, meanwhile, wins the NCAC title in the most lopsided championship meet in conference history. Ohio Wesleyan scored a record 205 points in the meet. Michelle Corcoran '90 was named the Most Valuable field performer after winning the long jump and placing second in the triple jump.

1990

Juli Althoff '91 places third in the indoor high jump at the NCAA Division III championship meet to become Ohio Wesleyan's first female 2-sport All-American. Althoff would finish third in the outdoor high jump and earn GTE Academic All-America® laurels the following year.

Keith Rucker '92 wins the NCAA Division III outdoor shot put championship. He would go on to win 2 more shot put titles and a discus crown and accumulate a total of 7 All-America citations in the 2 events.

1997

Soni Lloyd '97 wins the NCAA Division III championship in the 200-meter dash. Marv Frye retires after 37 years as head coach of men's track and field.

1999

Competing in his first season of intercollegiate track, Tyler Stillman '00 wins the NCAA Division III outdoor championship in the 400-meter dash. Stillman would successfully defend his title the next year, as well as take All-America honors in the indoor 400-meter dash.

2001

Jumper Craig Neeley '02 wins 3 events in helping the Bishop men's track & field team win its third straight NCAC indoor championship. Neeley is named the meet's Outstanding Field Event Performer for the third straight year. He went on to win All-America honors in the long jump. Neeley repeated those feats outdoors, winning 3 events in helping the Bishops win their third straight conference title and receiving Outstanding Field Event Performer honors, but would one-up his indoor performance by taking All-America laurels in both the long jump and high jump.

Stephanie Moss '01 wins her third consecutive All-America citation in the 800-meter run and is a first-team Verizon Academic All-America® selection. Her qualifying time of 2:10.52 was the 10th-fastest ever in NCAA Division III.

2002

Craig Neeley '02 wins 3 events lead the Bishop men's track team to its fourth straight NCAC indoor championship. Neeley was named the meet's Field Event Athlete of the Year for the fourth straight season. Neeley would go on to win All-America honors in the high jump and be named the Great Lakes Regional Athlete of the Year by the United States Track Coaches Association for the third straight season. Neeley then surpassed those feats at the NCAC outdoor championship meet, earning all-conference honors in 4 events and becoming the first person in NCAC history to be named Field Event Athlete of the Year for 4 straight years for both indoor and outdoor track. Neeley closed out his Bishop career with a bang, winning the long jump and placing second in the high jump at the NCAA Division III championship meet and receiving USTCA Field Athlete of the meet honors.

2003

Akeya Terrell '04 sets 5 school records and qualifies for both indoor and outdoor NCAA Division III championship meets. Indoors, Terrell broke her own school records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes. Outdoors, she not only bettered her own school mark in the 400-meter dash, but broke school records in the 100- and 200-meter dashes that had stood for more than 20 years.

2004

Akeya Terrell '04 wins All-America honors in the 400-meter dash. Terrell finished seventh in the event at both indoor and outdoor NCAA Division III championship meets. Aissha Broussard '04 also qualified for the NCAA outdoor championship meet, competing in the 400-meter hurdles.

2007

The women's track & field team wins both the North Coast Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor championships. The indoor title is Ohio Wesleyan's first since 1994, while the outdoor championship is Ohio Wesleyan's first since 1998. It was the first time since 1991 that Ohio Wesleyan swept both women's indoor and outdoor track & field titles.

Ohio Wesleyan Men's Track & Field Records

Ohio Wesleyan Men's Cross Country All-Americans
Ohio Wesleyan Men's Track & Field All-Americans

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Back to the main History page

season overview | schedule in/out | roster | stats in/out | coach | photo gallery
facilities xc/in/out | records/history | recruitment questionnaire | 2007-08 guide (pdf document)