Senior Spotlight: Cameron Marous — forever answering the bell 

By Bud Denega 

ADA — As a freshman, Cameron Marous was asked to "quarterback" the men's lacrosse team. That's not an easy task, whatsoever, especially in one's rookie campaign. 

As a sophomore, Marous was chosen by his teammates to be their captain on and off the field. That's a tall honor for a second-year player. 

A quick glance at the ONU record book will show Marous' name in more places than one. He's not just a leader off the field, but he produces at a high level on the field, as well.

Much has been asked of Marous in his four years as a Polar Bear, and he has answered the bell each and every time. 

— 

Marous didn't grow up with a bottle in one hand and lacrosse stick in the other. In fact, he didn't begin playing lacrosse until the latter half of his middle school years. 

In its place, Marous participated in everything from basketball to soccer. He even competed on a swim team for some time. 

But baseball was the sport that took up the majority of Marous' time growing up. He played year round after his family moved to California and continued in travel leagues upon moving back to Ohio. 

However, for one reason or another, Marous' travel team disbanded, leaving a void in his life. Fortunately, there was something there to take its place — lacrosse. 

"One of my good friends, he had been playing lacrosse, and he got me to pick up and stick and play," Marous said. "I've never looked back, and I've been all in on lacrosse ever since."

Marous quickly found out that many of the skills he developed in other sports were transferrable to the lacrosse field. The back-and-forth nature of basketball was similar to that of lacrosse. The physicality of football was prominent in lacrosse. The hand-eye coordination necessary in baseball was also essential in lacrosse. 

The only issue Marous had earlier on was the notion of why he didn't give lacrosse a try sooner. 

"It has been the best decision I've ever made," Marous said. "Looking back, I wish I would have done it earlier, but it's definitely turned out great."

Marous was thrust into a significant role as just a freshman in high school. He was given the opportunity to play varsity, but it wasn't until his sophomore year when he experienced a major uptick in production and on-field responsibility.

"We graduated a lot of seniors that year, so I got to play a bigger role," Marous said. "That's when I realized I wanted to play at the next level, and I had an opportunity to do so."

— 

A couple more years of high school stardom and Marous had numerous college suitors. He wanted to play collegiately, but academics were at the forefront of his mind. 

Thus, Ohio Northern and Marous met. Marous wanted a respected business school, and ONU wanted a player who could help its lacrosse program grow from its infancy stages. 

As soon as Marous donned the orange and black, he was given the reins of the offense. 

"As a first-year player, he was asked to quarterback our offense," ONU head coach Nat St. Laurent said. "That's a huge ask of any player, let alone a first-year player with no college lacrosse experience."

Marous had no trouble adjusting. He tallied an ONU freshman record 36 goals to go alongside 24 assists for a team-best 60 points. Marous was appropriately named Ohio Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. 

As a sophomore, Marous would have to shoulder another responsibility — captain. The lacrosse team's captain is voted on by the team, and Marous garnering that honor showcased his maturity at a young age.  

"That's an honor that speaks volumes to his leadership and commitment to his teammates and our program," St. Laurent said. "He is one of the hardest workers we have in our program. He spends a lot of time mastering his craft, and is often out getting extra reps before and after practice."

With captain displayed proudly on his uniform, Marous went out and took another step in his second year with the program. He poured in a school record 39 goals to go with his 36 assists for another school record of 75 points. 

Marous scored 34 goals and recorded 21 assists as a junior en route to being named a third-team CoSIDA Google Cloud Academic All-American. That honor goes next to his first-team All-District award and his trio of second-team All-OAC awards. 

But if you ask Marous, the three-year captain is recognition that stands above all others. 

"It's a huge honor, especially since its voted on from my teammates," Marous said. "They look up to me and see me as someone they want to lead them in games, off the field, on the field, and someone they view as being a role model. That's what I set myself out to be, a role model and someone that represents our program the right way and giving everything I have for the team." 

— 

Marous came to ONU as a relatively green lacrosse player with only a few years of playing experience. He came to a program in its second year of existence with a goal of making it into a force within the conference, regionally and nationally. 

And Marous has done just that. 

"We've built a program in our four years into one that's in the national spotlight," Marous said. 

"The next steps are to continue to rise, continue to gain national recognition and to keep climbing."

Fortunately for the Polar Bears, Marous will help to see that happen. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA has given spring sport athletes another year of eligibility. 

Marous intends to take advantage of that and add a finance major to his marketing degree. The three-year captain, the quarterback of the offense and the record-setting athlete that is Cameron Marous is coming back.