Six women, two men to represent Ohio Northern Track & Field at 2018 NCAA Div. III Indoor National Championships
By Caleb Scott
ADA — The Ohio Northern men's and women's track and field team will be well represented at the 2018 NCAA Div. III Indoor National Championships in Birmingham, Alabama this coming weekend as the Polar Bears saw a total of six women and two men qualify for the championships.
Senior Emily Richards (Delaware/Hayes), juniors Taylor Fisher (Wapakoneta), Avery Ewing (Kokomo, Ind./Eastern), Maddy Reed (Piketon) and sophomores Taylor Lavey (New Baltimore, Mich./Findlay) and Maggie Krause (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) will represent the Ohio Northern women's track and field teams at the meet.
On the men's side of the meet, senior Matt Molinaro (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle) and junior Ian McVey (Stow/Munroe Falls) will both compete.
Richards, now a 4-time qualifier for the indoor championships during her career at ONU, qualified for the meet in four events.
The senior owns the fastest time in the country and is the No. 1 seed in the 800 and 3,000-meter runs and the 1-mile run. The 1-mile run prelims are set for Friday, Mar. 9 at 2:50 p.m., while the 800-meter run prelims are set for Friday, Mar. 9 at 4 p.m. and the finals of the 3,000-meter run are on Saturday, Mar. 10 at 4:45 p.m.
Richards is also joined by teammates Fisher, Ewing, and Lavey as the 4x400-meter relay team qualified for the championships in dominating fashion on Saturday afternoon during the Polar Bear Final Qualifier, breaking the previous school record in the event by nearly two seconds and qualifying for the event with the 11th best time nationally. The prelims for the 4x400-meter relay are set for 5:45 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 9.
Reed will be making her second consecutive trip to the indoor championships in 2018 in the pole vault.
The junior is tied for the second best vault nationally and will look to become a 2-time All-American in the event after finishing third in the event a season ago.
Krause makes her first appearance at the national championships and will join Reed in the pole vault. Reed and Krause will compete in the event on Friday, Mar. 9 at 11 a.m.
After setting numerous personal records at the OAC Championships and finishing third in the event, Krause qualified for nationals with a career-best vault of 3.77 meters. Her mark currently ranks ninth best nationally entering the meet.
On the men's side of the meet, Molinaro will make his third appearance at the indoor national championships after qualifying in the 800-meter run. He currently owns the best time and No. 1 seed in the event entering the meet. The prelims for the 800-meter run are set for Friday, Mar. 9 at 4 p.m.
McVey qualified for the national championships for the first time in his career after making it into the field in the 5,000-meter run. The junior is currently seeded 15th in the country in the event. He will compete on Friday, Mar. 9 at 4:45 p.m.