Six earn All-Conference honors as Women's Cross Country finishes second of 10 at OAC Championships

Six earn All-Conference honors as Women's Cross Country finishes second of 10 at OAC Championships
Photos Live Results Results
October 28, 2023

FINDLAY — Six members of the Ohio Northern women's cross country team earned All-Conference accolades with top-20 finishes, helping ONU to a second-place finish at the 10-team Ohio Athletic Conference Championships on Saturday morning at Hillcrest Golf Club.

The Basics

  • Record: Ohio Northern (51-16)
  • Race Info: The event was a 6K race held at the Hillcrest Golf Club in Findlay.
  • The top 10 individual finishers earned First Team All-OAC honors, and the next 10 finishers earn Second Team All-Conference kudos.

Race Results

  • ONU finished second of 10 teams with 62 points.
  • John Carroll won the team title with 32 points. Mount Union was third with 72 points, Baldwin Wallace was fourth with 106, and Otterbein was fifth with 131.
  • Baldwin Wallace's Hope Murphy won the individual title in 21:56.

Top ONU Performers

  • Freshman AnnaSophia Gower (Perrysburg) led ONU across the finish line, placing third overall in the 111-woman field in 22:13. She earned First Team All-OAC kudos and was just one second off her career-best time.
  • Senior Olesya Mertz (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) was 12th in 22:47, earning Second Team All-Conference honors.
  • Senior Megan Vapenik (Strongsville) earned Second Team All-OAC honors, finishing 14th in 22:51.
  • Sophomore Kennedy Rader (Mason) was 16th in 23:02 to earn Second Team All-OAC honors.
  • Sophomore Samantha Roth (Brunswick) earned Second Team All-OAC honors by finishing 17th in 23:07.
  • Junior Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) was 20th in 23:14 and earned Second Team All-OAC honors.
  • Junior Olyvia Ashbrook (Johnstown/Northridge) was 22nd in 23:16.

Notables

  • Rader and Hockstok are now two-time All-OAC Second Team honorees.
  • Gower has been ONU's top finisher in all six races this season.
  • Rader and Ashbrook posted career-best times, and Vapenik posted a season-best time, on Saturday.
  • The Polar Bears matched their second-place finish from last season's OACs, where they had five All-Conference honorees.

Up Next

  • The Polar Bears return to action at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals at Silver Creek Metro Park in Akron on Nov. 11.