Season Preview: Men’s Track & Field boasts balanced, talented roster for 2023
By Wes Mayberry
| 2023 Men's Track & Field Schedule |
ADA — The Ohio Northern men's track and field team enters the 2023 season looking to extend some impressive streaks.
The Polar Bears posted their 32nd consecutive winning season indoors and 19th straight winning season outdoors in 2022 with respective records of 32-3 and 16-3. They placed third at the OAC Indoor Championships and fourth at the OAC Outdoor Championships and will be looking to build off those results in 2023 under 14th-year head coach Jason Maus.
"The team has good balance across all event groups and should get contributions from everywhere," Maus said.
The team returns 37 lettermen from a year ago to a group headlined by junior Keegan Digby (Bowling Green/Otsego), who closed the 2022 season as an All-American with a seventh-place finish in the shot put at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.
Northern returns a large number of other top performers from last season as well, including seniors Hunter Kesler (Oakwood/Paulding), Vini Souza (Spencerville), Brandon Berry (Wickliffe), Brooks Blakeley (Versailles) and Ollie Jacobs (DeGraff/Riverside); juniors Tommy Vetrovsky (Sagamore Hills/Nordonia), David Gross (Prospect/Pleasant Local), Trey Myers (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) and Canyon Neundorfer (Bellville, Tex./St. John); and sophomores Jordan Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph), Ross Schlatter (Curtice/Genoa), Ryan Massie (Beavercreek) and Landon Remmert (Marengo/Highland).
The Polar Bears also boast great depth, as they have added 24 freshmen for a 57-man roster.
The 2023 season opens on Jan. 20 when Northern hosts the Larry Cole Invitational.
Here is a preview of the 2023 ONU men's track and field team, by event groupings.
Throws
Digby is the headliner in the throwing events for the Polar Bears following an outstanding sophomore season in 2022. His school-record throw of 16.34 meters in the outdoor shot put at last season's Mike Becraft Invitational qualified him for the NCAA Championships, and he bested that with a mark of 16.38 meters to become ONU's first All-American in the event for men's track and field.
Digby also earned Ohio Athletic Conference championships and All-Great Lakes Region honors in both the indoor and outdoor shot put. The three-time All-Region honoree ranks second all-time at ONU with his personal-best throw of 15.64 meters in the indoor shot put and also competes in the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer throw and javelin.
"Keegan had a great season in 2022," Maus said. "This year will be a little different for him, as he has to balance expectations and trying to find ways to improve. He has a tremendous work ethic and the drive to be successful."
Vetrovsky returns to this event group after earning All-Region honors in the indoor weight throw and placing sixth in the event at the OACs in 2022. He has also competed in the indoor shot put and outdoor discus, hammer throw and javelin in his career.
Junior Zach DeBord (Mount Vernon/Highland) rounds out the returning lettermen in this group.
"This group has grown a lot over the last two seasons," Maus said. "The men's throwing events are really good in the OAC, but our group has done a great job of putting ourselves in the mix."
Jumps
The Polar Bears lost three-time OAC champion and two-time national qualifying pole vaulter Andrew Buderer to graduation after last season but return senior Brandt Marshall (Orange Township/Cory-Rawson) and junior Brandon Wise (Goshen, Ind./Concord) in that event.
Marshall placed seventh indoors and ninth outdoors at the 2022 OAC Championships. He boasts personal-best heights of 4.26 meters indoors and 4.31 meters outdoors.
Wise finished eighth in the outdoor pole vault at last season's OACs and owns personal-best heights of 4.27 meters indoors and 4.23 meters outdoors.
Senior Nick Tangeman (Maria Stein/Marion Local) leads the way in the long jump and triple jump after placing fifth and eighth, respectively, in those events at the 2022 OAC Outdoor Championships. His personal-best mark of 13.25 meters in the outdoor triple jump ranks seventh all-time at ONU.
Sophomore Tyrese Barker (Columbus/Bishop Hartley) returns after placing ninth indoors and 10th outdoors in the high jump at the OACs last season.
Junior Gabe Hensley (Lebanon) is another returning letterman for Northern in the triple jump and long jump events.
"We'll have to look to some new guys to contribute this year in the jumps group," Maus said. "But they learned from some good guys last year and are ready for the opportunity."
Sprints
Kesler, Dean, Souza, Berry, Jacobs and Remmert all return to the Polar Bears' sprint group after standout seasons in 2022.
A six-time All-OAC and four-time All-Region honoree, Kesler is part of the school record-holding indoor 4x200 relay and outdoor 4x400 relay teams with respective times of 1:29.07 and 3:14.57. He also ranks second all-time in the indoor 200 meters with a time of :22.23.
Kesler was an All-Region performer in the indoor 200 meters and was part of ONU's indoor 4x400 and outdoor 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams in 2022. He also earned All-OAC recognition in the indoor 200 meters and 4x200 relay as well as the outdoor 200 meters.
Dean was also a member of the indoor 4x200 relay and outdoor 4x400 relay teams that set new school records in those events last season. His outstanding freshman season included All-Region honors in the indoor 200 and 400 meters and the 4x400 relay as well as the outdoor 4x400 relay. He also earned All-OAC recognition in the indoor 200 and 400 meters and the 4x200 relay.
Souza joined Kesler on ONU's All-Region outdoor 4x100 relay team last season and is now a four-time All-OAC honoree after earning the accolade in the outdoor 4x100 and 4x400 relays in 2022.
Berry was also a member of that 4x100 relay team and is a two-time All-OAC honoree in that event. He ranks fifth all-time at ONU with his time of :07.01 in the 60-meter dash.
Jacobs earned All-OAC recognition as a member of the indoor 4x200 relay team last season and was part of the record-setting indoor 4x200 relay team.
Remmert earned All-OAC honors in the outdoor 4x400 relay last season.
Senior Selorm Adehe (Grove City/Central Crossing) and sophomore Jacob Kreger (Granville) round out the group of returning lettermen among the sprinters. Adehe ranks fourth all-time at ONU in the indoor 60-meter hurdles with a time of :08.66.
"This will be a heavy-hitting group for us this year," Maus said. "We have some depth and talent, but we'll have to be healthy and smart all season long. We're certainly excited about the opportunities in the sprints/hurdles group."
Distance/Mid-Distance
Myers headlines the Polar Bears' deep group of distance and middle-distance runners for 2023. The reigning OAC champion in the outdoor 800 meters and indoor 4x400 relay, Myers also earned All-Region and All-OAC honors as a member of the outdoor 4x400 relay team and was named All-OAC in the indoor 500 meters in 2022. Myers was part of the record-breaking outdoor 4x400 relay team last season and ranks fourth all-time at ONU in the indoor 800 meters (1:55.28) and seventh all-time in the outdoor 800 meters (1:53.64).
Gross and Schlatter joined Myers on the OAC champion indoor 4x400 relay team last season.
Gross was a member of the record-breaking outdoor 4x400 relay team, and he earned All-Region recognition in that event. He was also named All-OAC in the 4x400 and 4x800 relays and enters the season as a five-time All-OAC performer.
Blakeley, Massie and Neundorfer also return after earning All-OAC recognition in the outdoor 4x800 relay in 2022.
Fifth-year senior Caden Sauerbrey (Dresden/Tri-Valley); seniors Breydan Hann (Wooster), Dylan McKean (Warren/Champion), Alan Dravenstott (Medina) and Connor Lamison (Valencia, Pa./Beaver Area); juniors Ian Ackenhausen (Xenia/Legacy Christian Academy), Aaron Guzman (Lebanon), Kyle Roth (Rockford/Parkway), Braden Schaser (Fostoria/Lakota), Jared Swartz (Columbia Station/Columbia) and Ian Wallace (Tontogany/Otsego); and sophomores J.T. Basco (Painesville/Riverside), Adam Hellman (Findlay), Justin Pate (Vincent/Warren) and Corey Rinehart (Galena/Olentangy Berlin) round out the returning lettermen among the distance and middle-distance runners.
"The OAC sent several men's teams and individuals to the NCAA Championships this fall in cross country. This conference has some unbelievable depth in the men's distance/mid-distance events," Maus said. "Our group will have to continue to work and improve to be competitive in this area."