Owls crown three champs, finish fifth at NCAC

GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- Kenyon College senior Paula Soric established another triple jump record and claimed another prestigious honor while highlighting the final day of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Outdoor Track and FIeld Championship for the Owls, who wound up earning 72 teams points and finishing fifth in the eight-team standings.

The Owls overall finish and point total were the program's best since the 2018 season, when that team placed fourth with 85 points.

Paula Soric

Soric has been stellar throughout her Kenyon career and Saturday she continued to amaze by winning the NCAC triple jump title for a third straight season. Her distance of 39-3 (11.96 meters) not only smashed her previous Kenyon record of 38-9 ½ (11.82 meters), set last month, but it also tentatively ranks as a top-15 distance in all of NCAA Division III this season.

Soric collected 10 team points for that triple jump win. Combined with the eight points she earned yesterday for her second-place finish in the long jump, her output made it easy for conference coaches to name her the NCAC Field Athlete of the Year, marking the second time in the last three years she won the award.

Sophomore Olivia Gumz also tallied points for Kenyon in the triple jump. She covered a personal best 33-8 ¾ (10.28 meters) for seventh place and two team points.

On the track Saturday, Kenyon's best point total came from junior Anna Brown. She was crowned conference champ in the 800-meter run after she crossed the finish line with a season best time of 2:15.50. Prior to that performance, she took the runner-up spot in the 1,500-meter race by clocking in with a personal record of 4:41.57. With those two results, as well as a relay result later in the meet, Brown played a role in scoring 21 team points for the Owls.

Kenyon went on to see another athlete crowned NCAC champ. This time it was first-year Ariella Sobel. She took the title in the 400-meter dash, posting a winning time of 59.10 and tacking on 10 more points to the Owls' total.

Sophomore Olivia Ide, who was fourth in yesterday's 10,000-meter, placed fifth Saturday in the 5,000-meter run. She completed the race in 18:15.60, scoring four more points for the Kenyon team. That time was a personal record for Ide, edging her previous best of 18:15.93.

The Owls' other Saturday points were collected in relay competition. The 4x100-meter crew of Noa Helmbrecht, Gumz, Alina Secrest, and Sobel placed sixth in 50.95. At the end of the meet, the Kenyon 4x400-meter relay team of Brown, Addilyn Tober, Jean Cook, and Sobel also placed sixth, stopping the clock at 4:10.06.

In the final team standings, host DePauw University took home the trophy with 235 points. Wittenberg University was second with 171 points, Ohio Wesleyan University was third with 125 points, and Denison University was fourth with 77.5 points.

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Players Mentioned

Anna Brown: Junior; Mid-Distance

Jean Cook: Junior; Sprints

Olivia Gumz: Sophomore; Jumps

Olivia Ide: Sophomore; Distance

Alina Secrest: Senior; Sprints

Paula Soric: Senior; Jumps

Noa Helmbrecht: First-Year; Sprints

Ari Sobel: First-Year; Sprints

Addilyn Tober: First-Year; Hurdles

Players Mentioned

Anna Brown
: Junior; Mid-Distance

Jean Cook
: Junior; Sprints

Olivia Gumz
: Sophomore; Jumps

Olivia Ide
: Sophomore; Distance

Alina Secrest
: Senior; Sprints

Paula Soric
: Senior; Jumps

Noa Helmbrecht
: First-Year; Sprints

Ari Sobel
: First-Year; Sprints

Addilyn Tober
: First-Year; Hurdles