Digby named Field Athlete of the Year, Amidon named Assistant Coach of the Year in Great Lakes Region by USTFCCCA for Men’s Outdoor Track and Field
By Wes Mayberry
| 2023 USTFCCCA NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Regional Awards |
ADA — Ohio Northern junior Keegan Digby (Bowling Green/Otsego) and assistant coach Molly Amidon earned Great Lakes Region superlative honors in men's outdoor track and field for 2023 by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
Digby was named Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year, and Amidon earned recognition as Great Lakes Region Assistant Coach of the Year.
An All-American and school record-holder in both the indoor and outdoor shot put, Digby swept the USTFCCCA regional honors in 2023, as he was named the Great Lakes Region Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in March.
Digby won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship in both the indoor and outdoor shot put this season and earned six OAC Field Athlete of the Week honors over the course of the 2023 indoor and outdoor seasons.
At the 2023 OAC Outdoor Championships, he tied for the team lead in scoring 12 points by winning the shot put and placing seventh in the hammer throw.
Digby's school-record mark of 17.46 meters in the shot put came at the Ashland Alumni Open on April 28. That distance ranks third nationally in NCAA Division III this season.
Amidon was recognized for her work with Northern's sprinters and hurdlers this season. Now in her sixth year at ONU, Amidon coached six Polar Bear student-athletes in three events to qualify for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships.
Sophomore Jordan Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph) qualified for the national meet in the 400 meters. He joins seniors Vini Souza (Spencerville), Hunter Kesler (Oakwood/Paulding) and Ollie Jacobs (DeGraff/Riverside) as qualifiers in the 4x100 relay. Dean, Kesler, junior Trey Myers (Dayton/Chaminade-Julienne) and sophomore Ross Schlatter (Curtice/Genoa) are national qualifiers in the 4x400 relay.
Dean is the No. 6 seed in the 400 after posting a school-record time of :46.85 at the OAC Championships on May 4.
The 4x100 relay team enters as the No. 7 seed after running a school-record time of :40.72 at the Mount Union Last Chance Meet on May 18.
The 4x400 relay team enters as the No. 13 seed after posting a school-record time of 3:12.86 at the Harrison Dillard Twilight Meet on May 11.
Amidon's sprint/hurdle event group was responsible for scoring 48 of ONU's 99 points in finishing third at the OAC Outdoor Championships, and seven of her athletes currently own top-five rankings in the Great Lakes Region in their respective events.
The 2023 NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships are scheduled for Thursday, May 25, through Saturday, May 27, at St. John Fisher University's Polisseni Track & Field Complex in Rochester, N.Y.