BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's track and field teams have their sights set on an Ohio Athletic Conference title in 2020.
Head coach Jordan Hill '09, who is entering her second full season at the helm of the team, returns 21 letterwinners, eight All-OAC performers, five national qualifiers, and one All-American from last year's team that placed fourth at both the OAC Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
After a noteworthy cross country season that featured the program's second consecutive trip to the NCAA National Championships, the 2019 distance runners will look to translate its fall success to the track this season. Led by senior All-American Kelly Brennan (Akon/Walsh Jesuit), sophomore national qualifier Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain), and junior All-OAC performers Madison Kile (North Canton/Hoover) and Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial), BW's runners will sport some seasoned experience in the distance category.
This season's crop of distance runners will also seek valuable contributions from seniors Katie Fowler (Mount Vernon), Jordan Dascani (Toledo/Springfield), Claire Makowski (Bethel Park, Pa.), and Hannah Nagy (Belmont/Linsly), juniors Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West), Lizzy Gilreath (Mentor), Rebecca Penrose (Springfield/Shawnee), Megan Vaughn (Amherst/Firelands), and Katlyn Burns (Logan), as well as sophomores Sophi Perez (Cuyahoga Falls/Stow-Monroe Falls), Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas), and Jenna Daulbaugh (Minerva).
The women's track program will also welcome some new faces this season, as freshmen Hailey Borges (Brunswick), Maddie Miller (Medina), Claire Hollon (North Canton/Hoover), Maddie Roschival (Medina/Buckeye), Jenna Kaiser (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge), and junior All-OAC women's soccer forward Kayla Webb are all set to make their collegiate distance event debut in 2020.
Leading the way for the BW sprinters will be sophomore national qualifier Amanda Milo (Akron/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and junior All-OAC performer Ky'leana Allen (Columbus/Bishop Hartley). Both Milo and Allen will help set the tone for the rest of the sprint group this season.
Aiming to provide some additional points for the sprinters this campaign are sophomores Nina Curry (North Olmsted), Heather Guiley (Louisville), and Kayla Johnson (Akron/Buchtel).
Also on the sprinters' side, eagerly anticipating their inaugurating track meets, are incoming freshmen Maddie Boltz (Medina/Cloverleaf), Oksana Novotny (Smithville/Wooster), and Hannah Pack (Minster), and freshman volleyball student-athlete Jenna Sirianni (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell).
Milo will aspire to build upon her national-qualifying success in the hurdles, along with fellow hurdlers Guiley, Johnson, and Sirianni.
In the field, the Yellow Jackets will rely on senior national qualifier Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve) and senior All-OAC performer Jillian Roberts (Broadview Heights/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) to carry the load for the throwers. Senior Breeanna Karam (Dover) will also provide some experience for the young throwing group this season.
Hoping to make an immediate impact for the throwers are incoming freshmen Olivia Bowser (Seville/Medina), Ashley Geiss (Brunswick) and Abby Rodriguez (Grandview, Wash./Prosser), who will look to their senior leaders for guidance.
In the jumps, BW will be spearheaded by three returning juniors in Abby Lewicki (Medina/Highland), Stephanie Magvas (Westlake/Magnificat), and Heather Orr, who will all aim to improve their scores in the high jump and pole vault, respectively.
The Yellow Jackets begin the 2019-20 indoor season on Saturday, January 25, when BW travels to Westerville to compete in the Otterbein Invitational, hosted by Otterbein University inside the Clements Recreation Center. The Yellow Jackets will host the Dr. Taraschke Team Challenge on Saturday, February 1, and the Mid-February Meet on Friday, February 14, during the indoor season and the 51th Sparky Adams Invitational on Saturday, April 18, and the Harrison Dillard Twilight on Friday, May 8, during the outdoor season.
The OAC Indoor Championships will be hosted by Marietta College from February 28-29 inside the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center while Heidelberg University hosts the OAC Outdoor Championships from April 30-May 1 inside Hoernemann Stadium.
