Women’s Indoor Track & Field places 5th at OAC Championships
By Bud Denega
MARIETTA — Ohio Northern's Kayla Silva (Westerville/South) had a busy and fruitful Saturday during the final day of the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships inside Dyson Baudo Recreation Center. She crossed fourth in a pair of races to pace the Polar Bears to a fifth-place finish with 59 team points, moving its overall record to 48-21.
Mount Union won the meet, racking up 170.5 points, while Otterbein and Baldwin Wallace rounded out the top three with 151.5 and 136 points, respectively.
Silva started her day in the 55-meter dash where she recorded a time of 7.34. She earned her second fourth in the 200-meter dash where she clocked in at 26.13.
Junior Megan Wright (Eaton/Twin Valley South) earned a spot on the podium and an All-OAC honor, placing third in the 3,000-meter run with a time of 10:30.75. Wright and senior Maggie Krause (Chagrin Falls/Kenston) — who won pole vault — represented ONU's athletes who earned All-OAC recognition.
Sophomore Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) wasn't far behind, taking fifth with a time of 10:34.77.
Junior Stella DeWitt (Weston/Cardinal Stritch) finished fourth in triple jump with a mark of 10.43 meters. Sophomore Mackenzie Detmer (Waterville/Liberty Center) took eighth with a leap of 10.02.
The 800-meter relay team — of sophomore Emily Norden (Carey), senior Melinda McIntosh (Farmersville/Valley View), sophomore Mackenzie Detmer (Waterville/Liberty Center) and senior Sydney McCluer (Columbus Grove) — crossed fourth, clocking in at 1:51.78.
The 1,600-meter relay team — comprised of Norden, freshman Gabrielle Kowalczyk (Marion/Pleasant Local), freshman Emily Hughes (Norwalk/Seneca East) and McCluer — placed fifth, recording a time of 4:18.00.
Junior Chyanne Retcher (Ney/Fairview) finished seventh in the 1-mile run, registering a time of 5:15.14. She also took ninth in the 1000-meter run with a time of 3:10.63, while freshman Lexi Neff (Northfield/Walsh Jesuit) placed 10th, logging a time of 3:12.93.
Senior Melinda McIntosh (Farmersville/Valley View) finished eighth in the 55-meter hurdles with a time of 8.99, and fellow senior Madeleine Routhier (West Unity/Hilltop) rounded out ONU's top 10 finishers, crossing eighth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:23.84.
Northern finishes the regular season at the Polar Bear Final Qualifier Saturday.
