Men’s Outdoor Track and Field closes out week at Bucknell (Pa.) Classic and All-Ohio Championships

By Wes Mayberry

Competing as a split squad, the Ohio Northern men's outdoor track and field team closed out the week competing in the Bison Outdoor Classic at Bucknell (Pa.) and the All-Ohio Championships at Ohio Wesleyan on Saturday.

Saturday marked the second day of the Bison Outdoor Classic, and the Polar Bears competed in the shot put, mile, 800 meters, 400 meters and 4x400 relay.

Sophomore Ian Ackenhausen (Xenia/Legacy Christian Academy) and junior Brooks Blakeley (Versailles) placed second and third, respectively, in the mile run with times of 4:25.48 and 4:26.04.

Sophomore Keegan Digby (Bowling Green/Otsego) also shined, placing 11th in the shot put with a personal-best distance of 15.70 meters, which ranks second-best in program history.

In the 400, freshman Jordan Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph) and junior Hunter Kesler (Oakwood/Paulding) placed 14th and 19th, respectively, with times of :49.41 and :49.84. Dean's time was a personal-best and ranks ninth-fastest in program history.

Sophomore Trey Myers (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) finished 25th in the 800, running a personal-best time of 1:53.64, which ranks seventh-best in program history.

ONU's 4x400 relay team of Kesler, Dean, Myers and senior Sam Krabacher (Hamilton/Badin) placed third with a time of 3:20.10.

At the All-Ohio Championships, the Polar Bears scored 80 points to place third in the team standings. Denison led the way with 111.5 points, and Case Western Reserve was second with 111 points.

Northern posted three first-place finishes at the meet, winning the javelin throw, 100 meters and 4x100 relay.

Fifth-year senior Jack Lehr (York, Pa./Dallastown) won the javelin with a throw of 48.39 meters.

Senior Nate Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela-Saint Joseph) won the 100 meters, running a time of :10.82, and freshman Ozzie Miller (Dalton) placed second with a time of :10.92.

The 4x100 relay team of Dean, Miller, junior Selorm Adehe (Grove City/Central Crossing) and freshman Jacob Kreger (Granville) posted a winning time of :42.68.

ONU posted a pair of third-place finishes courtesy of sophomore Tommy Vetrovsky (Macedonia) in the hammer throw with a mark of 49.77 meters and junior Nick Tangeman (Maria Stein/Marion Local) in the high jump with a mark of 1.78 meters. Vetrovsky's throw was a personal-best and ranks seventh-best in program history.

Lehr added two more top-five finishes on the day, placing fourth in the shot put with a mark of 13.53 meters and fifth in the discus throw with a mark of 38.89 meters. He finished 10th in the hammer throw with a distance of 39.97 meters.

Tangeman placed seventh in the high jump with a mark of 1.78 meters, Adehe was seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of :16.34, and Kreger was seventh in the 200 meters with a time of :22.68.

ONU had nine other top-8 finishes.

Freshman Corey Rinehart (Galena/Olentangy Berlin) was fifth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:05.06.

Freshman Adam Hellman (Findlay) was sixth in the 10,000 meters with a time of 34:10.34.

Sophomore David Gross (Prospect/Pleasant Local) placed seventh in the 400 meters with a time of :51.50.

Gross, sophomore Tyler St. Onge (Litchfield, N.H./Campbell) and freshmen Landon Remmert (Marengo/Highland) and Mitchel Vance (Bellefontaine/Benjamin Logan) placed eighth in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:28.95.

Remmert added eighth-place finishes in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of :18.09 and the 400-meter hurdles with a time of :59.76.

Senior Dylan McKean (Warren/Champion) finished eighth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 16:01.73.

Sophomore Brandon Wise (Goshen, Ind./Concord) was eighth in the pole vault with a mark of 4.00 meters, and freshman Justin Pate was eighth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:17.03.

The Polar Bears return to action on Friday and Saturday when they host the two-day Mike Becraft Invitational.