Shelley Grostefon
Staff Writer
This year, the Wooster women’s track and field team has a graduating class of several incredibly valuable seniors whose contributions to the team will be missed next year. Hilary Coady ’16 is among this group of distinctive individuals who are leaving the College with years of experience benefitting the track and field team.
“Hilary is extremely focused and mentally tough,” said Dennis Rice, head coach of the track and field team.
Coady began her track and field career in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia and attended Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut.
Throughout her track career, Coady has successfully participated in a number of events. One of Coady’s specialties is the heptathlon, which is a track and field event in which each athlete participates in the same seven events (100-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200-meter dash, long jump, javelin and 800-meter run). In 2015, she set the Wooster record for the event with 4,593 points for her performance.
She has also worked on improving her ability in the pentathlon and hurdles. In 2015, she set the school’s record for the pentathlon (a track and field event consisting of five events) at 3,364 points, which she upped to 3,581 in 2016. This is among the best scores for the pentathlon in NCAA Division III. She also set the school’s record for the 60-meter hurdles at 9.22 seconds. With several teammates, she has also set school records in the 4×200 and 4×400 relays in 2015 and 2014, respectively.
In March 2016, Coady was one of two female athletes at the College to attend the NCAA Div.-III Championships in Iowa for the indoor season, the other being Carolyn Webster ’19. At this tournament, Coady placed third in the pentathlon and earned her second career All-American honor.
These accomplishments have not gone unnoticed, as Coady was given NCAC weekly honors on April 25 for her recent performance. This is the fourth time in her career that she has garnered this honor.
Coach Rice attributes this success to Coady’s strength and leadership, allowing her to overcome even the best competition. “Hilary is extremely focused and mentally tough,” Rice stated. “Her confidence has always separated her from her competitors.”
Coady has stood out not only in her athletic career at Wooster but also in the classroom and through her academic work.
“She has an outstanding work ethic and strives to achieve success in both the classroom and track and field,” Coach Rice explained. “She has great balance between her academics, track and field and her outside activities.”
Coady has made several appearances on the Dean’s List throughout her college career at Wooster and was recognized as an academic All-American this year for her performance in the classroom.
Coady is a leader not only in her academic and athletic performances but also in her positive attitude.
“Hilary’s teammates not only see her as a track and field athlete but as a person that has passion for life,” Coach Rice said.
Coady looks to complete her college career at the National Championships for outdoor track and field at the end of May, where she hopes to come in first place.
On Friday, April 29, the Scots will participate at the Denison Invitational and later will participate at league and division championships through May.