Season Preview: Women's Track and Field prepared to defend conference title, compete on national stage in 2019
By Blake Moore
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's track and field program sets its sights on the third consecutive OAC Outdoor Track and Field Championship in program history and continued success on the national stage during the 2019 indoor and outdoor campaigns under 10th-year head coach Jason Maus.
Last season, the Polar Bears earned their second straight conference championship in the outdoor season and claimed team runner-up honors during the indoor campaign. In addition, the team compiled an 85-20 record between the two seasons.
Northern would also end third in the final team standings at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, scoring 30 points for the highest finish at the national meet in school history.
This season, ONU enters the campaign with a young roster eager to defend last season's outdoor conference title and develop their talents throughout the campaign.
"On the women's side, this year will certainly be a time for growing and learning our roles within the team with a relatively young roster," Maus stated. "The first few weeks will be used to determine how we fit together and show the younger athletes the type of commitment it takes to be successful at this level and within the conference."
Despite the youth on this season's roster, Maus and his staff will return 19 former letterwinners, including seven All-OAC and five All-Great Lakes Region honorees, three previous OAC champions, and one All-American.
"Our letterwinners will be the first group we lean on for leadership this season," Maus remarked. "You look to those who have some experience and have been to conference championships - that is where you start as a program. It is a nice core group to have back, and we have added a few important pieces in different areas. Now we must look to grow and develop together this season."
A breakdown of the 2019 women's track and field squad follows, arranged via event category:
Sprints/Hurdles
Senior Taylor Fisher (Wapakoneta) and juniors Taylor Lavey (New Baltimore, Mich./Findlay) and Melinda McIntosh (Farmersville/Valley View) will lead a strong sprint and hurdle event group this season after all three garnered All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors one season ago.
In her first three seasons, Fisher has been an OAC champion in the 4x400-meter relay on three occasions while also earning six all-conference honors, four All-Great Lakes Region accolades, and helping establish the 4x400-meter relay records at both indoor and outdoor venues. For her efforts, she has compiled 39 total points at the conference championships.
Additionally, she has served as a model student-athlete, being named to the Academic All-OAC team twice and to the USTFCCCA All-Academic Team in 2018.
Lavey also competed on last season's 4x400-meter relay squad that won both indoor and outdoor event titles in 2018. She has earned eight All-OAC kudos, five all-region honors, and recorded 35.75 championship points in two seasons.
The junior sprinter/jumper has also established six school standards in the 60-meter dash, 100-meter dash, indoor and outdoor 200-meter dashes, and in both 4x400-meter relay events.
McIntosh, a junior hurdler, was tabbed to her first All-OAC team last season in the 100-meter hurdle event during the outdoor campaign. She owns 7.5 career OAC Championship points.
Senior Mallory Weininger (Upper Sandusky) and sophomore Stella DeWitt (Weston/Cardinal Stritch Catholic) will join the trio as returning letterwinners in the sprint and hurdle disciplines.
"The women's sprint group will be pretty young this season across the board," Maus said. "They will experience some ups-and-downs and a lot of learning, but we feel good about the talent level this group has entering the season. There can be some significant contributors in this group; we will just have to grow up quickly."
Mid-Distance
Senior runner Avery Ewing (Kokomo, Ind./Eastern) will rejoin the program for her final season, looking to lead the mid-distance event group as a three-time letterwinner at Ohio Northern.
The six-time OAC champion has collected 50 conference championship points, been named All-OAC 10 times, and registered five All-Great Lakes Region honors. She also holds three ONU records in the indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relays and the outdoor 4x800-meter relay.
Classmate Michaela Fox (Bellevue) will also rejoin the mid-distance group this season as a former all-conference recipient. She garnered her All-OAC honor in 2018 as a member of the outdoor 4x800-meter relay squad.
Junior Madeleine Routhier (West Unity/Hilltop) and sophomore Chyanne Retcher (Ney/Fairview) will also return to the group as former letterwinners while additional student-athletes from other disciplines may be added to the events throughout the season.
"The group will lean on Avery (Ewing) quite a bit this season due to their inexperience," Maus mentioned. "There are certainly some opportunities open with the young roster - some roles to be filled - we will just need some individuals to step up in those places."
Distance
Coach Maus and his staff will return five former letterwinners in the distance race disciplines during the 2019 indoor and outdoor seasons.
Seniors Colleen Grainger (Hilliard/Hilliard Bentley) and Kristina Myers (Grove City/Central Crossing) will look to provide leadership for the large group this season both on and off the track.
Grainger enters the season as the lone senior distance runner to score at the conference championships. She would register a point after aiding the 2016 indoor distance medley relay squad to a fifth-place finish.
Meanwhile, Myers has registered Academic All-Conference kudos in the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
Juniors Kathleen Colvin (Hilliard/Bishop Ready) and sophomores Kylie Vestal (Youngstown/Austintown Fitch) and Megan Wright (Eaton/Twin Valley South) will each return after receiving varsity letters last season.
In addition, the Ohio Northern distance group will add several talented freshmen, including first-years Elizabeth Whitmore (Mason) and Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Munroe Falls). Both freshmen earned All-OAC Second-Team honors in their first cross country season last fall while the former also landed on the All-Great Lakes Region team.
"Early on, this group will mostly consist primarily of freshmen and sophomores," Coach Maus explained. "We had some good growth and development for this group in the fall during cross country season. We will look to build on that this spring."
Field
All-American pole vaulter Maggie Krause (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) and seven total letterwinners headline the Ohio Northern field events unit for the 2019 season.
Krause earned her first NCAA All-American honor in 2018 after placing eighth at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Lacrosse, Wisconsin. The third-year pole vaulter has also been tabbed to the All-OAC and All-Great Lakes Region awards lists twice, named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member, and recorded 16 conference championship points in her career.
She will be joined in the event by classmate Allison Stevens (Naperville, Ill./Central), who earned Academic All-OAC honors and her first varsity letter last season.
In the jump events, DeWitt and Weininger will lead the way for the Polar Bears.
DeWitt will return as last season's top performer in the jump disciplines. In 2018, she landed on the All-Ohio Athletic Conference teams for the indoor and outdoor season in the long jump and the triple jump while also making the All-Great Lakes Region squad for the indoor long jump.
Meanwhile, Weininger will return to the field event group boasting 11 career OAC Championship points and two Academic All-OAC honors.
Lavey will join the tandem as a returning letterwinner in the jump disciplines.
For the throwing events, Northern will welcome back two former letterwinners in senior Tia Harris (Newton Falls) and junior Ashlynn Hickey (Wilmington).
Harris is a three-time letterwinner who has registered 26 total points at the OAC Championships in her career. In addition, the senior currently owns the Ohio Northern indoor shot put record with a 12.87-meter throw.
Hickey has lettered twice during her career, specializing in the shot put and weight/hammer throw events.
"We have some good pieces back in the field events this season," Maus remarked. "Maggie will return as a former All-American from the outdoor season; Tia is the school record holder in the shot put; and Stella just missed the national meet in the long jump during the outdoor season as a freshman. We have some experience, so we will turn to this group heavily this year."
Schedule
The Polar Bears are slated to kick off the 2019 campaign with a trip to nearby NCAA Division II institution Tiffin on Saturday, January 19 as they join the field for the Tiffin Dragon Open. ONU will then travel northward for their first appearance at Findlay this season when they compete in the two-day Findlay Indoor Track & Field Classic on January 25 and 26.
In February, Northern will return to Ada Saturday, February 2 when the program hosts the annual Joe Banks Invitational inside the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse. The event will kick off a four-meet home schedule, which includes three indoor competitions and one outdoor meet during the 2019 season.
Ohio Northern returns to the road on February 9 when the Orange and Black appear at the All-Ohio Championships held in Westerville at fellow Ohio Athletic Conference institution Otterbein. Following the event, the Polar Bears will direct their attention to Findlay for the second time this season on February 16 as they compete in the Flag City Open.
Northern will then host back-to-back events inside the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse to conclude the indoor home slate. The Polar Bears will welcome in all 10 OAC programs on February 22-23 for the 2019 OAC Indoor Track and Field Championships to open the two-event set. The program will then host the Polar Bear Last Chance Invite on March 1-2 as a final opportunity for student-athletes to qualify for the national championship meet.
Qualifying team members will then compete for All-American status and national championship crowns at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships scheduled for March 8 and 9 in Boston, Massachusetts.
During the outdoor season, Ohio Northern is scheduled to make stops at the two-day Emory (Ga.) Invitational, Oberlin Invitational, and All-Ohio Championships to be held at Ohio Wesleyan.
The women's track and field program concludes the home portion of their schedule with the two-day Polar Bear Invitational on April 19 and 20 at Kerscher Stadium.
The Orange and Black will look to defend their 2018 conference championship crown when they return to Westerville for the 2019 Ohio Athletic Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships on April 26 and 27.
In May, the Polar Bears will send select individuals to two last-chance qualifying meets at North Central (Ill.) prior to the national championship meet. These student-athletes will appear in the Dr. Keeler Invitational on May 9 and 10 or the Gregory Invitational slated for May 15 and 16.
The 2019 season will conclude with qualifying individuals competing at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships May 23-25 in Geneva, Ohio.
"I think the schedule is set up well with most indoor meets happening locally," Maus stated regarding the 2019 indoor season calendar. "This will give us a good chance to see how we stack up against the conference, state, and region and bring many fans and alumni to our early meets. These meets will be competitive and allow us to grow early on."
"We also have the chance to host the indoor conference championship. It is always exciting to host an OAC meet in your own venue and definitely adds extra energy for the program."
"In the outdoor season, we have the opportunity to travel to some warmer weather, which will be a great experience for our student-athletes. Hopefully, we will have an established identity from the indoor season and will be ready to compete throughout the outdoor season."