Molinaro's record day leads trio of Polar Bears who compete in Grand Valley State Big Meet on Friday evening
By Caleb Scott
ALLENDALE, Mich. — Senior Matt Molinaro (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle) had a historical day for the Ohio Northern men's indoor track and field team to lead a trio of Polar Bears at the Big Meet hosted by Grand Valley State University on Friday evening.
Molinaro won the 800-meter run in an impressive 1:50.23.
It was previously reported that Molinaro broke the school record, but his time fell just shy of 3-time National Champion Jimmy O'Brien's record.
The senior's time is also tied for the ninth best mark in Div. III history in the event. Matt also has the best time in the country among Div. III athletes in the event.
Senior Bobby Borger (Perrysburg) and junior Ian McVey (Stow/Munroe Falls) both competed in the 5,000-meter run for ONU.
In the 5,000-meter run, McVey had a solid race, finishing seventeenth overall in 14:38.44. McVey was the first Div. III athlete to cross the finish line.
Borger finished the race in 15:19.83, finishing 77th out of 209 athletes.
"This was a really good race for Matt," said head coach Jason Maus. "He had a great PR and he really ran well today. He took control of the race early and was aggressive. Today was a big improvement from last week and certainly having an all-time top-10 mark is a great accomplishment. Ian and Bobby both had good races too. Ian posted his second best time ever in the 5k and looked really good. Bobby was really aggressive from the start and looked really good early. This was a really good trip for these guys and it certainly helps us moving forward."
The Polar Bears return to the track tomorrow afternoon as they travel to Westerville to compete in the All-Ohio Championships at the Clements Recreation and Fitness Center.