Lavey ties school record and sets new school record, Reed claims pole vault title as No. 9 Women's Indoor Track & Field sits in first place after day one of OAC Championships
By Caleb Scott
BEXLEY — Sophomore Taylor Lavey (New Baltimore, Mich./Findlay) tied the 60-meter dash school record and broke the 200-meter dash school record, while junior Maddy Reed (Piketon) claimed the pole vault title to lead the No. 9-ranked Ohio Northern women's indoor track and field team on the first day of the 2018 Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The Polar Bears are first of 10 teams in the teams standings with 39.5 points after the first day of action, while Mount Union is second with 39 points and Otterbein rounds out the top-3 with 33 points through five events scored.
Lavey tied the school record in the 60-meter dash prelims, qualifying for Saturday's finals in :7.96.
The sophomore then edged her own school record in the 200-meter dash, qualifying for Saturday's final with a second place time of :25.96.
Reed went toe-to-toe with Otterbein's Harmony Kolling for the second consecutive year, and claimed her second consecutive indoor OAC title in the pole vault with a leap of 13' 0.25".
Freshman Stella DeWitt (Weston/Cardinal Stritch Catholic) got Northern off to a quick start in the long jump, earning All-OAC honors with a third place finish in the event with a leap of 17' 9.50".
Junior Ashlie Baumann (Sterling Heights, Mich./Stevenson) also garnered All-OAC honors in the 5,000-meter run, finishing third in the event in 17:52.48.
In the 500-meter dash, Northern qualified two runners for Saturday's competition as junior Avery Ewing (Kokomo, Ind./Eastern) finished fourth in 1:20.00 and junior Taylor Fisher (Wapakoneta) was seventh in 1:21.03.
Junior Sydney McCluer (Columbus Grove) advanced to Saturday's finals in the 60-meter hurdles, finishing eighth in the event in :9.70.
In the women's weight throw, junior Tia Harris (Newton Falls) scored for the Polar Bears, finishing seventh with a toss of 45' 1.50".
The distance medley relay team of sophomore Madeleine Routhier (West Unity/Hilltop), freshman Kylie Vestal (Youngstown/Austintown Fitch), junior Michaela Fox (Bellevue) and freshman Chyanne Retcher (Ney/Fairview High School) wrapped day one of the meet up with a fifth place finish in the DMR 13:11.59.
"What a good first day for our women," said head coach Jason Maus. "They really performed well. We saw PR's all over today. Our women's pole vault group had a huge day. Maddie was able to defend her title and Maggie hit a PR by numerous heights. Taylor Lavey has really come into her own and is a force for us and this conference. She had a great first day. Stella got us off to a really good start in the long jump and it was good to see her handle her first conference meet so well. Again, the goal is to make it to day two and we need to be prepared to compete tomorrow."
Northern returns to action tomorrow afternoon during the second day of the OAC Championships.
Team Standings - Thru Day 1
1. Ohio Northern 39.5, 2. Mount Union 39, 3. Otterbein 33, 4. Baldwin Wallace 23, 5. John Carroll 22, 6. Heidelberg 15, 7. Wilmington 11, 8. Capital 7.5, 9. Muskingum 5
