Myers, Digby win conference titles as Men’s Outdoor Track and Field finishes third at OAC Championships
By Wes Mayberry
ALLIANCE — Juniors Trey Myers (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) and Keegan Digby (Bowling Green/Otsego) both won Ohio Athletic Conference titles on Friday to lead the Ohio Northern men's outdoor track and field team to a third-place finish in the OAC Championships at Kehres Stadium.
Myers won the OAC title in the 800 meters with a time of 1:52.26, and Digby was the conference champ in the shot put with a mark of 16.84 meters. It was the second straight title in those events for both student-athletes.
"Those guys were defending champions, and they handled that pressure well," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "Both guys led wire to wire, which is what those guys are supposed to do."
The Polar Bears (27-6 overall) finished the meet with 99 points, placing third in the 10-team field.
"We had some good things happen and some champions, which is always fun, but we were in a battle all day," Maus said. "I'm really proud of our efforts and the way our guys competed. They always represent Ohio Northern really well."
Mount Union won the team title with 238 points, and John Carroll was second with 153 points.
The top three finishers in each event earned All-OAC honors, and the top eight scored team points.
In addition to the two championships, the Polar Bears added five more All-OAC finishes.
Sophomore Jordan Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph) finished second in the 400 meters, running a time of :46.85 to break his own school-record time of :47.24 he ran in the prelims on Thursday.
Myers, freshmen Ben Zimmerer (Liberty Township/Lakota West) and Zach O'Neill (Holland/Maumee Valley Country Day) and sophomore Ross Schlatter (Curtice/Genoa) were second in the 4x400 relay in 3:18.98.
Sophomore Tyrese Barker (Columbus/Bishop Hartley) finished second in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of :14.97.
Dean joined seniors Vini Souza (Spencerville), Hunter Kesler (Oakwood/Paulding) and Ollie Jacobs (DeGraff/Riverside) in running a school-record time of :40.88 to finish third in the 4x100 relay. The prior school record was :40.89 set in 2005.
Kesler placed third in the 200 meters with a personal-best time of :21.56, which ranks third all-time at ONU.
The Polar Bears closed the day with eight other top-eight finishes.
Souza was fifth in the 100 meters in :10.82, and Jacobs was sixth in :10.88.
Barker added a sixth-place finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.87 meters, and Digby was seventh in the hammer throw with a mark of 51.36 meters.
Sophomore Ryan Massie (Beavercreek) finished seventh in the 1,500 meters in a personal-best 3:55.72, which ranks eighth all-time at ONU.
Kesler was seventh in the 400 in :50.09, Jacobs was seventh in the 200 in :22.04, and sophomore Landon Remmert (Marengo/Highland) was eighth in the 110-meter hurdles in :15.88.
The Polar Bears return to action next weekend for the Baldwin Wallace Dillard Twilight on Friday and the St. Francis (Ill.) Last Chance on Friday and Saturday.
