Women's Track & Field: Ohio Northern (0-0 Overall) hosts the annual Joe Banks Invitational
Saturday, February 2, 2019, 11 a.m. - ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse, Ada, Ohio
| Live Results | Meet Schedule (Word) |
This Weekend's Preview: Seven teams converge on the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse Saturday, February 2nd as the Ohio Northern men's and women's track and field programs host the annual Joe Banks Invitational ... Ohio Northern, Bluffton, Capital, Hanover (Ind.), Heidelberg, Ohio Christian, and Otterbein are all slated to compete this weekend ... Field events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with running events slated for a 12 p.m. start in Ada ... Last weekend, the Polar Bears competed in the two-day Findlay Alumni Classic & Elite Throws meet, hosted by the University of Findlay ... Junior All-American Maggie Krause led the ONU efforts, winning her second consecutive pole vault title via a tiebreaker after clearing 3.57 meters (11' 8.5") ... Freshman Rue Whitmore and the distance medley relay squad each took home runner-up honors over the weekend ... Whitmore posted the 10th-fastest time in school history in the 5,000-meter run with an 18:35.18 clocking ... Meanwhile, the DMR team of sophomore Chyanne Retcher, senior Taylor Fisher, junior Madeleine Routhier, and senior Avery Ewing crossed the tape in 13:08.90 for a second-place result ... Ewing, sophomore Stella DeWitt, and freshman Kayla Silva rounded out the top-three finishes, placing third in the 800-meter run, long jump, and 60-meter dash events, respectively ... In 2018, the women's track and field program earned team runner-up honors at last season's Joe Banks Invitational with 143.5 points.
Head Coach Jason Maus: Maus is currently in his 10th season leading the Ohio Northern men's and women's track and field programs at Ohio Northern ... He owns a 366-121-1 career coaching record during the women's indoor season, a .751 win percentage.
Who Was Joe Banks?
Joseph Banks (1919-2007) was a head track and field coach and assistant football coach at Ohio Northern University from 1960 to 1967.
In addition, Banks served as the Associate Director of Admissions (1971-1984), a part-time admissions associate (1985-2002), an assistant professor of physical education, and an athletic trainer for ONU throughout his life. He also spent time as an ONU Alumni Association board member, the Phi Mu Delta Alumni Association treasurer, and the ONU N-Man Association president for Ohio Northern.
Prior to working at ONU, Banks was a high school teacher/coach and a sergeant in the U.S. military. Notably, he served with the Third Army's 965th Ordinance Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company in the Rhineland under General George Patton during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
He graduated from Ohio Northern in 1941 with a B.S. in Education and returned for a B.A. degree in 1946. During his undergraduate career at Ohio Northern, Banks was a record-holder and letterwinner for the school's track and field program and a letterwinner on the football team.
In high school, Banks played football for legendary Ohio State University head coach Woody Hayes at Central High School in New Philadelphia, Ohio. He was also a letterwinner for the Central HS track and field program.
Banks was inducted into the ONU Athletic Hall of Fame and the Holmes County Sports Hall of Fame.