Women's Cross Country places eight on Academic All-OAC team
By Thomas McArdle
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team landed eight Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference honorees for the 2016 season.
Seniors Kristina Myers (Grove City/Central Crossing), Elizabeth Martin (Buckland/Wapakoneta), Maggie Kimmel (Kenton), Nikki Huber (Findlay) and Morgan Rouch (Ada), junior Emily Richards (Delaware/Hayes), and sophomores Elizabeth Steele (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) and Angie Sullivan (Medina) each earned the honor.
The award winners must be a sophomore or higher in class standing, maintain varsity status and have a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.50.
Myers, a Biology/Biochemistry major, was named Academic All-OAC for the first time in her career.
The senior appeared in three races this season and had a season-best time of 27:44.
Martin, an Exercise Physiology major, earned her second Academic All-OAC award.
She appeared in five races this year, finishing in the top-7 once for Northern and running a career-best time of 24:56 at the OAC Championship Meet.
Kimmel is a Political Science major who earned her first Academic All-OAC honor.
Her career-best time of 28:39 came at the Michigan State Spartan Invitational.
Huber received her second Academic All-OAC award as a Biology-Pre P.A. major.
The senior finished in the top-7 for the Polar Bears on five occasions. At the OAC Championship Meet, she ran her career-best time of 23:32.
Rouch, a Biology-Pre P.A. and Spanish double major, earned her first Academic All-OAC recognition.
The senior battled injuries throughout the season, but ran a season-best time of 26:48.
Richards, a junior studying Chemistry, received her second Academic All-OAC award.
She led the Polar Bears with a second place finish at the OAC Championship Meet in a season-best time of 22:09. Richards was also the top finisher for ONU at the Bluffton Meet and the NCAA Regional Meet. She was the OAC Runner of the Week for the week of September 6.
Steele, a Exercise Physiology major, earned her first Academic All-AOC honor.
The sophomore appeared in five races for Ohio Northern, recording a career-best time of 26:08 at the OAC Championship Meet.
Sullivan, a sophomore Civil Engineering major, received her first Academic All-OAC award.
She finished the year with four top-7 finishes for the Polar Bears, including a career-best time of 24:23 at the OAC Championship Meet.
The team had a 49-49 record this season and finished fourth in the OAC this season under eighth-year head coach Jason Maus.