Women's Track & Field winds up fifth at the 2019 OAC Championships

By Blake Moore

WESTERVILLE — Senior thrower Tia Harris (Newton Falls) and freshman Kayla Silva (Westerville/South) each earned All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors Saturday as the Ohio Northern women's track and field program wrapped up a fifth-place performance at the 2019 OAC Outdoor Championships at Otterbein.

Over the two-day event, the Polar Bears compiled 76 team points and finished fifth in the 10-team championship. John Carroll captured its first-ever OAC Championship title with 174 team points, edging out Mount Union and Otterbein, who recorded 171 and 167 points, respectively.

ONU moves to 59-12 overall this season with the final weekend results.

The top-three individuals and relays in each event earn All-OAC honors.

Harris continued her impressive senior campaign with all-conference honors in the shot put. Just two weeks removed from rewriting the ONU history books in the event, the Newton Falls product launched the shot 12.24 meters (40' 2") to end second in the 23-person field.

The senior will graduate a two-time All-OAC honoree after receiving the same accolades in the indoor shot put earlier this season.

Meanwhile, Silva garnered her first career all-conference accolade with an impressive third-place finish in a loaded 100-meter dash field. She and junior Taylor Lavey (New Baltimore, Mich./Findlay) crossed the line back-to-back with :12.40 and :12.43 clockings for a 3-4 finish, respectively.

In addition, Lavey turned in a seventh-place performance in the 200-meter dash after posting a :26.11 in the event finals.

After setting a new outdoor-best one week ago, senior Mallory Weininger (Upper Sandusky) established a new career-best mark in the high jump competition after clearing 1.62 meters (5' 3.75") Saturday afternoon. The effort moved her into a tie for 38th on the NCAA Division III performance list, pending other results from around the country this weekend.

In the meet's final race, senior Sydney McCluer (Columbus Grove), freshman Emily Norden (Carey), and seniors Taylor Fisher (Wapakoneta) and Avery Ewing (Kokomo, Ind./Eastern) registered another fourth-place mark in the 4x400-meter relay in 4:06.37. Ewing stormed past Baldwin Wallace's Kelly Brennan down the final straightaway, beating her to the line by just 0.35 seconds.

Ewing also recorded a fourth-place individual finish inside Memorial Stadium, completing the 800-meter run in 2:19.40.

After qualifying for the event finals Friday evening, Norden placed as an individual in the 400-meter dash with a 1:01.34 for seventh place.

Additionally, McCluer and Fisher qualified for the 400-meter hurdle finals on Friday evening, securing their place among the event's top-eight. On Saturday, the tandem ended seventh and eighth in the field with 1:06.38 and 1:07.50 marks, respectively.

Silva, Norden, McCluer, and Lavey teamed up for the final top-eight finish Saturday in Westerville. The quartet registered a :52.76 in the 4x100-meter dash to end sixth overall.

The Polar Bears will now break from action until Thursday, May 9 when individuals compete for berths in the NCAA Division III Championships at the Dr. Keeler Invitational. The two-day competition will be held in Naperville, Illinois at North Central (Ill.).

Final Team Standings:

1.) John Carroll 174, 2.) Mount Union 171, 3.) Otterbein 167, 4.) Baldwin Wallace 103, 5.) Ohio Northern 76, 6.) Capital 44, 7.) Heidelberg 33, 8.) Marietta 20, 9.) Muskingum 18, 10.) Wilmington 13