The Fighting Scots stayed hot this weekend at the All-Ohio Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Feb. 10 event at Otterbein University saw 13 Fighting Scots garner All-Ohio status for their efforts en route to a dominant team performance punctuated by the setting of five new school records.
Three of those records were collected by standout Nkosi “King” Jeju ’27, who broke onto the scene when he set the school long jump record at his Jan. 13 collegiate indoor track and field debut. Jeju has not looked back since, this time setting records in the triple jump, with a distance of 45 feet and 5.75 inches, the 200-meter dash, with a time of 22.46 seconds and the 60-meter dash, with a time of 6.85 seconds (breaking a record he previously held of 7.00 seconds achieved on Jan. 20).
Commenting on his impressive string of successes to kick off his Wooster track and field career, Jeju said his “mindset throughout this journey has been focused on continuous improvement and pushing my limits. Hard work, dedication and the unwavering support of my teammates and coaches have played pivotal roles in reaching these heights.”
Luckily for the Scots, Jeju’s immense success was far from the extent of the mens’ accomplishments. Drew Robertson ’25, Joe Shilts ’23, Zane DeMercurio ’26 and Will Callender ’25 kicked the championship off with an emphatic bang, recording a first-place time of 10:30:05 in the distance medley relay.
The Scots rode this momentum to the tune of seven additional male scorers, highlighted by seasoned pole vaulter Dylan Garretson ’24, whose vault of 16 feet and one inch took first place in the event by a sizable margin. Garretson, who became Wooster’s first ever indoor Track and Field All-American a year ago, described himself as “content” with his performance, stating, “I proved I am consistent at 4.90 meters.”
As the season wears on, he appears to have bigger goals in mind. “I am not yet worried about getting 5.10 meters just yet. I just want to keep chipping away at the higher bars. I am building up for the National Meet. That is where I want the big jumps,” he said. As his Wooster career draws to a close, all eyes will be on Garretson to continue soaring to new heights.
Wooster’s women’s team shared a similar amount of success, with Daysia Hargrave ’25 and Ainsley Wiesner ’24 breaking their own records in the 60-meter hurdles and weight throw respectively. Hargrave recorded a time of 8.86 seconds and Wiesner’s throw measured in at 56 feet.
The team also found their footing in relay events. The distance medley relay of Igna Mendez ’25, Amy Gabrovsek ’26, Zanna Anderson ’27 and Athena Tharenos ’24 took first place in the event with a time of 12:57.13, and the 4×200 relay of Drew Patterson ’24, Claire Davis ’27, Maia Doescher ’25 and Izzy Cozzie ’26 finished fourth, clocking in at 1:49.84.
The women’s team’s commendable effort as a whole accounted for a total of 60 points, good for fifth overall out of 12 teams. The men amassed 69.5 points and placed fourth.
“We worked cohesively [to support] each other to deliver strong individual and collective results. While there’s always room for improvement, I’m proud of what we accomplished together,” said Jeju of the team as a whole’s overall showing.
Hargrave felt similarly, saying “I was very proud of my team. All-Ohio brings out some good competition that we don’t see in our conference meets.”
The Scots will have an opportunity to keep building positive momentum this Friday, Feb. 16, when they travel to Kenyon College for the Kenyon Classic.
