By Caleb Scott
The Ohio Northern men's indoor track and field team will look to compete for an Ohio Athletic Conference title in 2017 under eighth-year head coach Jason Maus. Northern finished second on the conference in both the indoor and outdoor season's a year ago and posted its third consecutive top-3 appearance in the league in both seasons.
Maus welcomes back 22 letterwinners from the 2015-16 seasons. "We like our chances this year in the OAC," said head coach Jason Maus. "We return a nice group from last season and hope to build on the success we had last year."
Here is how the 2017 Polar Bears break down in every event category:
Sprints
The Polar Bears welcome back five letterwinners to the group of sprinters, including senior Matthew Hommer, and juniors Conner Karg, Brandon Emert and Matt Craven.
Karg, a two-time letterwinner, returns after helping the 4x100 relay team take second place at the outdoor OAC Championships. The junior also placed in the top-5 in two events at the outdoor OAC Championships and two events at the indoor OAC Championships.
Emert also returns as a sprinter for the Polar Bears in 2017. He returns after posting four top-4 finishes at the OAC Championships during the course of the season.
"The sprinters are young this year," said Maus. "Karg and Emert are certainly two of our key returners and they will look to lead this group. Craven is making his way back from a season-ending injury last year and we think he will make a positive impact for us. Some of the younger guys that were on the team last year will step into some more important roles and hopefully have a strong showing."
Mid-Distance
The mid-distance group will be led by junior All-American Matt Molinaro. Molinaro earned All-America honors in 2016 at the NCAA III Indoor Championships after placing sixth in the 800-meter run. "Matt is a heavy hitter for us and he can cover a lot of events for us," said Maus. "It helps to have a guy with that much experience return."
Three time letterwinners and seniors Ian McKee and Andrew Harden will also look to make a big impact for ONU. Harden earned All-OAC honors after finishing third in 1,000-meter run at the OAC Indoor Championships.
McKee, Harden, and sophomore Ian McVey were part of the OAC Indoor Champion distance medley relay team in 2016. "Andy, McKee, and McVey are all key guys that are big returners for us," said Maus. "Those guys will be the leaders of this group. We expect some of the younger guys to really step up and develop this season as well."
Distance
The distance group will look to make a big impact for Northern this season as the Polar Bears welcome back eight letterwinners from a year ago.
Senior Kase Schalois, a 3-time letterwinner returns after a solid outing in 2016. Schalois is a two-time OAC champion from a season ago after he won both the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run at the OAC outdoor championships.
Also returning for ONU in 2017 is senior Cully Gordon, juniors Samuel Boyd and Bobby Borger, and sophomore Spencer Schulze. Gordon won the 10,000-meter run during the OAC outdoor championships and will look to make a big impact for ONU.
"Our distance group is fairly experienced this season," said Maus. "Guys like Schalois, Gordon, Borger, Boyd and Schulze make this a very talented group. We have a lot of depth in this group and a lot of experience."
Field
Senior Lucas Shumate will be look to lead in the field events in 2017. Shumate was a national qualifier in the hammer throw during the 2016 outdoor season and will look to lead the throwers. "Lucas is a good thrower in general," said Maus. "He had a fantastic outdoor season and brings a lot to the table when it comes to throws."
Seniors Zane Augustine and A.J. Cody will look to add depth to a talented throwing group. Juniors Luke Bogdanovich and Alexander Sibila will look to lead the jump group.
Sophomore transfer Luke Sommer will also look to be in the mix for the jumpers. "Sommer could step up and fill the void for our jumpers this season," said Maus. "We also hope to see Bogdanovich and Sibila score some points for us."
Schedule
Northern opens its 2017 campaign as it hosts the OAC Split Meet at the ONU Sports Center on Jan. 21. After traveling to the Grand Valley State (Mich.) Invitational on Jan. 28, ONU returns to the ONU Sports Center and hosts the annual Joe Banks Invitational on Feb. 4.
The Polar Bears will compete at the All-Ohio Championships (Feb. 11) and the Mount Union Tune Up (Feb. 18), before competing at the OAC Championships on Feb. 24-25.
The men will then return home to host the Polar Bear Last Chance Invitational on Mar. 3-4. The indoor championships are set to be held in Naperville, Ill., on Mar. 10-11. Northern opens the outdoor season on Mar. 18 as it travels to New Concord to compete in the Muskie Duals.
ONU will also compete in the Cedarville Invitational on Mar. 25, the Centre (Ky.) Invitational on Apr. 1, the Ohio Weslesyan Marv Frye Invitational on Apr. 8, the North Central (Ill.) Keeler Invitational on May 11-12 and the North Central (Ill.) Gregory Invitational on May 17-18.
The All-Ohio Championships are slated for Apr. 15, and the Polar Bears will compete in the OAC Championships on Apr. 28-29.
Northern will host its annual Polar Bear Invitational on Apr. 22.
The outdoor championships will be hosted by Mount Union at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva from May 25-27.
