A solid number of former local high school track and field standouts are competing at the college level this spring. 

Waterloo High School has no less than nine former tracksters keeping up their passion for the sport.

One former Bulldog at the NCAA Division I level is Molly Grohmann. A state qualifier and class valedictorian during her time at WHS, Grohmann is a member of the Southeast Missouri University women’s track team. 

She enjoyed a solid freshman season for SEMO last year and is off to a strong start already in 2025. 

At the Ole Miss Classic on March 22, Grohmann cleared a height of five feet, five inches to take the gold medal in the high jump. At the Pacesetter Sports Invite on March 29, she posted a mark of five feet, six inches for the silver medal. 

She has also competed in the long jump at SEMO.

Also  competing  at the Division I level is WHS grad Danielle Mudd.  She runs cross country and track at the University of Tennessee-Martin. 

This past weekend, Mudd achieved a personal record with a time of 4:53.70 for 1,500 meters in the Joe Walker Invite at Ole Miss.

During the indoor track season, Mudd competed in the Distance Medley Relay for UT-Martin.  

Two former Bulldogs are members of the University of Southern Indiana men’s track squad, those being distance runners Kyle Kern and Joe Schwartz. Both were state qualifiers while at WHS.

Kern ran the 5,000 meter, 3,000 meter and mile runs for USI during the recent indoor track season. For the outdoor season, he ran a time of 4:08.81 for 1,500 meters at the Eastern Illinois University Big Blue Classic this past weekend and a time of 15:13.27 for 5,000 meters at the Washington University Distance Carnival in late March. 

Schwartz ran the 3,000 and 5,000 meter runs during the indoor season. For the outdoor season, he ran a 4:12.37 for 1,500 meters art EIU and 15:59.69 for 5,000 meters at Wash U.

USI competes in NCAA Division II athletics.

Another WHS grad, Austin Corey, is a member of the men’s track squad this spring at McKendree University, which also competes in Division II. 

At the NCAA Division III level, both Alex Roehm and Chloe Aubuschon are members of the track team at Greenville University. Aubuschon was on Greenville’s distance medley relay team that placed first at the 2025 SLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships earlier this year. Roehm runs sprints for the Panthers.

Also running at the DIII level is WHS grad Lauren Patterson. She’s a distance runner at Illinois Wesleyan University. 

At the NAIA level, WHS grad Drew Rose is a member of the men’s track squad at College of the Ozarks. Rose is a junior who competes in the steeplechase, 4×400 meter relay and javelin for the Bobcats. During his freshman season, Rose was able to compete in the NCCAA National Championship race and received the team’s Most Improved Runner award.

Columbia High School also has a handful of recent graduates competing in college track and field – including two at the Division I level. 

Abby Venhaus, a former state champion at CHS, is a member of the Eastern Illinois University women’s track squad.  Venhaus comes off of a strong indoor season in which she recorded personal bests in the long jump, 200 meter run and the 60 meter dash. The EIU track team wrapped up the EIU Big Blue Classic this past weekend with Venhaus securing first-place finishes in both the long jump (5.51 meters) and the 100 meter dash (12.06 seconds).

Another former CHS track star is Ethan Hogan, who runs cross country and track at the University of North Carolina. Hogan, who was redshirted last year, made his outdoor track debut recently for the Tarheels with a time of 3:52.21 in the 1,500 meter run.

At the Division II level, former Eagles standout Carson Mueth is a member of the Missouri S&T men’s track squad and Calvin Range is a distance runner at Maryville University.

At the Division III level, CHS grad Londyn Little continues to impress at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. During the indoor season, Little competed in the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships last month. He placed second in the 200 meter run in addition to running the 60 meter dash and 4×400 meter relay. This past Saturday at the outdoor UW-La Crosse Ashton May Invitational, Little closed hard and clinched the win at 400 meters with a time of 48.68 seconds.