Men’s Outdoor Track and Field garners 11 All-Region accolades

June 23, 2022

By Wes Mayberry

| 2022 USTFCCCA Outdoor Track and Field All-Region Team |

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's outdoor track and field team garnered 11 USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region accolades for the 2022 season.

This year's All-Region honorees include fifth-year senior Jack Lehr (York, Pa./Dallastown); seniors Nate Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph) and Andrew Buderer (Oak Harbor); juniors Hunter Kesler (Oakwood/Paulding) and Vini Souza (Spencerville); sophomores David Gross (Prospect/Pleasant Local), Trey Myers (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) and Keegan Digby (Bowling Green/Otsego); and freshmen Ozzie Miller (Dalton) and Jordan Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph).

To earn All-Region honors, athletes must rank in the top five in their region in their respective event on the final TFRRS list. In addition, each member of a region's top three relay teams was also selected for distinction.

Kesler led the Polar Bears with two All-Region accolades as part of Northern's 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams.

He was joined on the 4x400 team by Gross, Myers and Jordan Dean, and their time of 3:14.57 at the Augustana (Ill.) Midwest Twilight meet was a new school record and ranked 23rd nationally.

The 4x100 team of Kesler, Souza, Miller and Nate Dean posted a season-best time of :41.34, which ranked 31st nationally.

During the indoor season, Kesler earned All-Region honors in the 200 meters and 4x400 relay and was All-OAC in the 200 meters and 4x200 relay. His time of :22.23 in the indoor 200 ranks second all-time at ONU. He was also an All-OAC performer in the outdoor 200 meters this season.

Gross and Myers were part of ONU's indoor OAC champion 4x400 relay team this season. Myers was also the OAC champion in the outdoor 800 meters and earned All-OAC status in the indoor 500 and outdoor 4x400 relay. Gross was an All-OAC honoree in the outdoor 4x400 and 4x800 relays.

The latest All-Region honor is the fourth for Jordan Dean this year, joining the ones he earned in the 200 and 400 meters and the 4x400 relay during the indoor season. He was also an indoor All-OAC performer in the 200 and 400 meters and the 4x200 relay. His time of :22.35 in the indoor 200 meters ranks third all-time at ONU.

Nate Dean was All-Region in the 200 meters and 4x400 relay during the indoor portion of the 2022 season. He earned All-OAC accolades in the indoor 60 meters and 4x200 relay and the outdoor 4x100 relay this season and holds school records in the indoor 200 meters (:22.07) and 60 meters (:06.94). He also ranks third all-time at ONU in the indoor 400 meters (:49.19) and outdoor 200 meters (:21.63).

Souza and Miller were both members of ONU's outdoor All-OAC 4x100 relay team. Souza also ran on the outdoor 4x400 relay team that earned All-OAC honors.

Digby, Buderer and Lehr earned All-Region honors in field events.

Digby and Buderer were NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships qualifiers in the shot put and pole vault, respectively.

Digby entered the national meet after setting a new school-record mark of 16.34 meters at the Mike Becraft Invitational on April 23 and earned All-American status by besting that distance with a throw of 16.38 meters to place seventh. He was the OAC champion in both the indoor and outdoor shot put and has now earned All-Region honors in both events this season. His personal-best throw of 15.64 meters in the indoor shot put ranks second all-time at ONU.

Buderer qualified for the national meet with a height of 4.86 meters at the Mount Union Last Chance meet on May 19. That mark ranked 17th nationally and third all-time at ONU. A two-time national qualifier, Buderer also holds the second-best height in school history in the indoor pole vault at 4.85 meters and was All-OAC in both indoor and outdoor pole vault this season.

Lehr earned All-Region status in the javelin after finishing with a season-best mark of 52.07 meters at the Mount Union Last Chance meet to rank 86th nationally and eighth all-time at ONU. He was also the OAC champion in the event this season.

The Polar Bears finished 32-3 overall and third at the OAC Championships indoors and 16-3 overall and fourth at the OAC Championships outdoors during the 2022 season under 13th-year head coach Jason Maus.