Molinaro and Schalois leads Men's Indoor Track & Field on Day 2 of OAC Championships
By Caleb Scott
BEREA — Senior Kase Schalois (Van Wert) and junior Matt Molinaro (Sterling Heights, Mich./DeLaSalle) led the Ohio Northern men's indoor track and field team Saturday afternoon as it competed in the final day of the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships.
The Polar Bears finished second in the team standings with 151 points.
Mount Union claimed the title with 231.50 points, and John Carroll finished third with 92 points.
ONU improves to 48-16 on the season.
Schalois was named OAC Men's Distance Runner of the Year for his efforts.
Molinaro posted two first place finishes for the Polar Bears as he won the 800-meter run in 1:57.59 and claimed the OAC Title in the 1-mile run in 4:20.41.
Senior Lucas Shumate (Wapakoneta/Spencerville) claimed the OAC Title in the weight throw and broke his own previous school record with a toss of 60' 1.25", which currently is the third best throw in the nation.
In the 400-meter dash, junior Conner Karg (West Liberty/Salem) earned All-Conference honors as he finished second in :50.27.
In the 1,000-meter run, sophomore Ian McVey (Stow/Munrow Falls) also earned All-Conference honors as finished second in the event in 2:32.58.
Schalois and junior Bobby Borger (Perrysburg) finished first and second, respectively in the 5,000-meter run, in 15:12.46 and 15:12.47.
The team of Karg, junior Alec Lunney (Middleburg Heights/Berea-Midpark), sophomore Corey Briggs (Lima/Bath) and freshman Jared Butcher (Mechanicsburg) earned All-Conference honors as they finished third in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:29.27.
Schalois and McVey also earned All-Conference honors on day one of the Championships as Schalois narrowly edged out his teammate as he won the 3,000-meter run in 8:57.29, while McVey finished second in 8:57.48.
The distance medley relay team of senior Andrew Harden (Dayton/Vandalia-Butler), Lunney, Molinaro and Briggs earned All-Conference honors with a first place finish in 10:26.26.
"Our guys really competed this weekend," said head coach Jason Maus. "We had a lot of really good marks and saw this team really come together. We had a lot of guys step up for us and that was great to see. We like where we are at and saw a lot of momentum from the meet."
The Polar Bears return to action Mar. 3-4 as they host the Polar Bear Last Chance Meet at the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse.
Final Team Standings
1. Mount Union, 231.5, 2. Ohio Northern 151, 3. John Carroll 92, 4. Otterbein 78.50, 5. Heidelberg 52, 6. Capital 50, 7. Wilmington 32, 8. Marietta 24, 9. Baldwin Wallace 23, 10. Muskingum 6