Junior Keegan Digby repeats as shot put champion to lead Men’s Indoor Track and Field to 3rd-place finish at OAC Championships
By Wes Mayberry
BEREA — Junior Keegan Digby (Bowling Green/Otsego) repeated as the Ohio Athletic Conference champion in the shot put to lead the Ohio Northern men's indoor track and field team on the final day of the OAC Championships on Saturday at Baldwin Wallace's Lou Higgins Center.
Digby, who threw a school-record 17.13 meters in the shot put earlier this season, posted a distance of 16.63 meters to win the event on Saturday. He won the 2022 conference title with a throw of 15.48 meters.
Digby set the school record in the outdoor shot put with a throw of 16.38 meters at last season's NCAA Championships en route to earning All-American status.
"Keegan had a big weekend with finishing fourth in the weight throw on Friday and winning the shot put championship for the second year in a row," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "There's always pressure when you come in as the favorite, and he handled it really well. He continues to progress toward the national championships."
The Polar Bears (21-2 overall) scored 90 points to finish in third place of 10 teams at the meet.
"I'm really proud of the effort all the way around," Maus said. "The kids competed really hard, and we took care of business."
No. 21 Mount Union won the team title with 243 points, No. 9 John Carroll was second with 140 points, Otterbein was fourth with 73 points, and Wilmington was fifth with 60 points.
The top three finishers in each event earn All-OAC status, and the top eight score team points.
Junior Trey Myers (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) posted an All-OAC finish in the 800 meters, placing second by matching his career-best time of 1:54.97, which ranks third all-time at ONU.
"Trey's 800 was really, really good," Maus said. "He ran a really smart, tactical race and made a push for the win."
The 4x400 relay team of Myers, junior David Gross (Prospect/Pleasant Local), sophomore Jordan Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph) and freshman Zach O'Neill (Holland/Maumee Valley Country Day) also finished second, running a time of 3:21.21.
"All those guys ran well. That was a really good race," Maus said.
The Polar Bears added 10 more top-eight finishes.
Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph) was fourth in the 200 meters with a time of :22.28.
Sophomore Tyrese Barker (Columbus/Bishop Hartley) finished fifth in the high jump with a mark of 1.89 meters, and sophomore Trey Masterson (Tiffin/Hopewell-Loudon) was fifth in the 3,000 meters in a personal-best 8:23.98, which ranks second all-time at ONU.
The 4x200 relay team of O'Neill, seniors Vini Souza (Spencerville) and Ollie Jacobs (DeGraff/Riverside) and freshman Brett Greer (Mentor) finished fifth in 1:31.99.
Freshman Bryce Stuart (Lucasville/Valley) was sixth in the high jump with a mark of 1.89 meters, Greer was sixth in the 55 hurdles in :07.99, and Souza was sixth in the 55 dash in :06.52. Both Greer and Souza's times are tied for ninth all-time at ONU in their respective events.
Sophomore Ryan Massie (Beavercreek) finished seventh in the mile run with a personal-best time of 4:17.73, which ranks sixth all-time at ONU.
Senior Nick Tangeman (Maria Stein/Marion Local) was eighth in the triple jump with a mark of 13.20 meters, which ranks seventh all-time at ONU, and Barker was eighth in the 55 hurdles with a time of :08.06.
Northern returns to action on March 3-4 to host the Polar Bear Final Qualifier.
