By: Erin Madden
BEREA, Ohio - A mix of upperclassmen with championship experience and underclassmen with talent will lead the Baldwin Wallace University women's track and field team to new heights in the Ohio Athletic Conference in 2021.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, BW will be competing in conference-only meets consisting of anywhere from three to five teams. Most meets will take place on Sundays without spectators. In addition, all meets will be scored, which is unusual for a track and field that usually has a few open meets on the schedule.
Head coach Jordan Hill '09, who is in her third season at the helm, returns a roster of six seniors, five juniors and 10 sophomores from last year's squad that finished fourth at the OAC Indoor Championships. Among the returners are two athletes who are OAC champions and national qualifiers and three additional All-OAC performers. In addition, Hill also welcomes one transfer and 11 freshmen to the team.
"On the women's side, we're going to see a big mix of experience from upperclassmen throughout the event groups, especially those who have OAC and NCAA championship experience, but we also added a lot of young talent this year," Hill said. "We have the heavy hitters from the upperclassmen, though. It'll be fun to see the women play to their competitive experience while adding in the talent from our freshmen. It's going to be a great team energy this year."
One of the returning OAC champions is junior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC distance runner Alyssa Laughner (Howard, Pa./Central Mountain). Laughner swept the 3,000-meter run and 5,000-meter run titles a season ago and was honored as an All-Great Lakes Region performance by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) in the 5,000-meter run. She will look to continue her success and is aiming for her second-ever appearance at the national track meet after finishing ninth as a freshman in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
All-OAC performer Hastings Marek (Pataskala/Watkins Memorial) and Molina Otte (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) will look to have stellar senior seasons and will provide a lot of depth and experience for the distance crew. Marek earned her All-OAC honors as a member of the third-place distance medley relay team in and as the third-place finisher in the 3,000 steeplechase, both coming in 2018. Meanwhile, freshman Hope Murphy (Mogadore) was a multiple time All-State athlete in high school and has a bright future as a Yellow Jacket.
Rounding out the distance crew are junior Academic All-OAC student-athlete Jenna Daulbaugh (Minerva), junior Sophi Perez (Cuyahoga Falls/Stow-Munroe Falls), sophomore Claire Hollon (North Canton/Hoover), sophomore Jenna Kaiser (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge), sophomore Maddie Miller (Medina), sophomore Maddie Roschival (Medina/Buckeye), freshman Bella Fredriksen (Hamburg, N.Y.), freshman Cassie Kolonchuk (Canal Winchester), freshman Kamaria Montgomery (Louisville/Canton GlenOak) and freshman Liv Triplett (Bedford Heights/Elyria).
Across the track, senior All-OAC performer Ky'leana Allen (Columbus/Bishop Hartley) and junior All-OAC performer Natalie Vinci (Canton/St. Thomas Aquinas) will anchor the sprint group. Both Allen and Vinci earned their All-OAC accolades as members of third-place distance medley relay teams, Allen as a freshman in 2018 and Vinci as a freshman in 2019.
Transfer junior Sarah Shahan (Chardon/Cardinal) comes over to Berea from Cuyahoga Community College, where she was a two-year member of the track and field team and an Academic All-American. She brings speed and strength to the starting blocks and will be relied on in the sprints and relays. Freshman Lexie Gozdan (Canton/Massillon Perry) will look to make some major contributions in the long sprints as well.
Also lining up on the blocks are junior Nina Curry (North Olmsted), sophomore Maddie Boltz (Medina/Cloverleaf), sophomore Hannah Pack (Minster) and freshman Erin Welsh (North Ridgeville), who will each provide stiff competition on the track. In addition, sophomore Jenna Sirianni (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell) and Gozdan will comprise the hurdle crew.
Highlighting the returning field student-athletes is senior All-OAC and Academic All-OAC thrower Brooke Buckhannon (Collins/Western Reserve). As a result of the 2020 NCAA Indoor National Championships being cancelled, she was also named an USTFCCCA Indoor All-American for qualifying to the national meet in the weight throw. Buckhannon is the only Yellow Jacket track and field athlete to take the eligibility waiver offered by the NCAA to spring student-athletes. However, she must wait to compete until the outdoor season where she will look to defend her OAC title and seek a return to the national championships in the hammer throw. Buckhannon placed 12th overall in the hammer at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships in her first appearance at the national meet.
Sophomore Abby Rodriguez (Grandview, Wash./Prosser) had a breakout performance at last year's conference meet when she placed sixth in the shot put and looks to continue that success into 2021. Sophomore Ashley Geiss (Brunswick) and freshman Selena Shelley (Mentor) also look to make an impact out in the field and to add some points to the BW team score.
Other throwers hoping to hit some head-turning marks are sophomore Olivia Bowser (Seville/Medina), freshman Maddie Liberati (Lisbon/David Anderson) and freshman Kenzie Shelton (Medina/Buckeye).
The women jumpers also have a lot of depth and talent, starting with senior Academic All-OAC student-athlete Stephanie Magvas (Westlake/Magnificat) in the high jump, who had a great off-season heading into her senior year. Sirianni also benefited from off-season training as she built up speed in the hopes of being a top conference placer in the long jump and triple jump. Boltz will also be a tough competitor in the long jump.
Senior Academic All-OAC student-athlete Heather Orr (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) will compete alongside Magvas in the high jump while Pack and freshman Emily Randall (Mount Gilead) will both look to leave their mark on the scoresheet.
The Yellow Jackets will begin their schedule on Sunday, January 24, at the University of Mount Union 5-Team Meet at the Peterson Field House. BW will host tri-meets with Capital University and Otterbein University on Sunday, February 7, and Heidelberg University and John Carroll University on Sunday, February 21, both on the Harrison Dillard Track inside the Lou Higgins Center Fieldhouse.
The OAC Indoor Championships will be hosted by Otterbein March 5-6 inside the Clements Recreation Center. The OAC has not yet released a schedule for the 2021 outdoor season.
