Season Preview: Women’s Cross Country sets sights on another successful campaign in 2018
By Blake Moore
ADA – The Ohio Northern women's cross country team looks to build off last season's fourth-place effort at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships during the 2018 campaign under 10th-year head coach Jason Maus.
In 2017, the Polar Bears compiled an impressive 94-37 overall record, which included team titles at the Bluffton 5k and the Tiffelberg Invitational, and posted an upper division finish at the OAC Championships for the 16th consecutive season.
This season, Coach Maus and his staff welcome back nine lettermen and 13 student/athletes overall.
Seniors Avery Ewing (Kokomo, Ind./Eastern), Colleen Grainger (Hilliard/Bentley), Kristina Myers (Grove City/Central Crossing), Angie Sullivan (Medina), and Janelle Posthuma (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Northern) will provide upperclass leadership during the 2018 season.
Ewing lead the senior class last season by ending among the team's top-seven finishers at all seven meets in which she raced.
Grainger, the lone three-time letter winner on this year's squad, finished in the team's top-seven on six occasions last year and has done so 17 times in her career.
Myers picked up five top-seven performances while Sullivan turned in one top-seven effort in 2017. Both are leaders in the classroom, too, with each garnering Academic All-OAC honors.
Posthuma returns to the Polar Bears having competed in 15 career varsity races with one top-seven finish during her first three seasons.
Kathleen Colvin (Hilliard/Bishop Ready), an Academic All-OAC nominee, and Madeleine Routhier (West Unity/Hilltop) are both returning for their junior year after previously lettering.
Sophomores Chyanne Retcher (Ney/Fairview) and Megan Wright (Eaton/Twin Valley South) will also rejoin the squad after picking up their first career varsity letters as freshmen. Both athletes would compete at all seven meets in 2017 with Retcher and Wright tallying six and seven top-seven finishes for the team, respectively.
Other members returning to the program include seniors Jocelyn Reinhart (Fostoria/St. Wendelin) and Elizabeth Steele (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol), junior Michaela Fox (Bellevue), and sophomore Kylie Vestal (Youngstown/Austintown-Fitch).
This year's roster will be complete with the addition of six incoming freshmen looking to make an impact in their first season at Ohio Northern.
"We have a good mix of seniors and newcomers," Maus said. "We have some big roles to fill and are excited about the talent level of our returners and of our incoming freshmen class. We will be young and will have some ups and downs but I am optimistic about the upcoming season."
Coach Jason Maus and the women's cross country program will open their 2018 slate with a trip to the Bluffton 5k Invitational on Friday, August 31.
The team will also make stops at the Calvin (Mich.) Knight Invitational (Sept. 8), Pre-Regional Meet at Shelbyville, Ind., (Sept. 15), the All-Ohio Championships (Sept. 29), and the Wilmington Invitational (Oct. 12) during the regular season.
The OAC Championships are scheduled for Saturday, October 27 in Alliance at 11 a.m.
The Polar Bears will then make a southwestern trek to Shelbyville, Ind., for the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional meet on November 10. Qualifying teams and individuals will advance from the regional affair to the NCAA Championships to be held November 17 in Winneconne, Wis..