Wayne State head women’s track and field coach Marlon Brink has announced five more student athletes have signed national letters of intent to attend Wayne State College and compete for the Wildcats in the 2024-25 academic year, bringing the total number of athletes in the 2024 recruiting class to 14.
The newest group of Wildcat signings include Kaitlyn Bloomenrader from Sequim, Washington, Madison McKie (muh – key) of Norfolk, Zoey Holmes from Forest City, Iowa, McKinley Grover of Gordon and Jayrn Warejcka (wresh – kuh) from Canton, South Dakota.
Bloomenrader is middistance/ cross country runner from Sequim High School in Washington and will compete in cross country and track and field at Wayne State. Last fall, she was a Class 2A state qualifier in cross country and has earned Olympic League Scholar Athlete Awards in cross country, track and field and basketball. Bloomenrader is a member of the National Honor Society and has recorded personal best times of 2:24 in the 800-meter run and 5:34.87 in the 1,600-meter run.
“Kaitlyn will be a great addition to our team,” commented Coach Brink. “She has had some good cross country experience as well as success in mid-distance events on the track. Kaitlyn is also an outstanding student who will excel in the classroom, which fits one of the criteria that we also look for in our students.”
Grover is a thrower from Gordon-Rushville High School that was multi-sport standout in volleyball, basketball and track and field. In track and field last spring as a junior, she placed seventh in the Class C discus (128’ 11”) and just missed a medal with a ninth-place finish in the shot put (37’7 ¼”). Grover was also a state medalist in the discus as a sophomore – fifth at 125’ 7” – while also qualifying for state in the shot put.
In volleyball, Grover was All-Western Trails Conference First Team as a senior with 196 kills, 101 service aces and 83 blocks and is also an All-Conference performer in basketball currently averaging 10.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.
“McKinley is a talented athlete that we feel has the ability to continue to get better as a thrower at the college level,” said Brink. “She should fit in well with our solid tradition of women’s throwers.”
Holmes is a sprinter from Forest City, Iowa where she competed in cross country and track and field. Last fall she was a Class 2A state qualifier in cross country and earned All-Top of Iowa Conference honors. Last spring competing for Okoboji High School she was a four-event state track qualifier winning medals in three relay events. Holmes was a All-Conference and All-State selection in track and field.
“Zoey is a sprinter with range from the 100 meters through the 400-meter run,” remarked Coach Brink.”She will be adding quality and depth to our sprint squad. She is also an outstanding student, who will do great in the classroom.”
McKie is a cross country and distance runner at Stanton High School that will compete in cross country and track and field for the Wildcats. She is a threetime Class D state qualifier in cross country and last spring was Class C state track qualifier in the 3200-meter run. McKie excels in the classroom earning Academic All-State honors in cross country, basketball and track and field.
“Madison has had good success in cross country, having competed at the state cross country meet three years in a row,” said Coach Brink. She will be looked upon to help develop depth in the distance events for the Wildcats.”
Warejcka is a jumper/hurdler from Canton High School in South Dakota. Last spring, she placed third in the Class A long jump at 16’ 8 ½” and was fifth in the 100 hurdles in 15.74 seconds. She also placed sixth in the long jump as a sophomore. Warejcka also excels in wrestling earning All-Conference honors.
“Jayrn is a solid hurdler/long jumper, who will come in to help both of those event group in our team immediately,” stated Brink. ”We are excited to have her compete for the Wildcats next year.”
Wayne State College is a NCAA Division II school located in Wayne, Nebraska and competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.