The Ohio Northern women's indoor track and field program has been projected to finish fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference during the 2019 campaign under 10th-year head coach Jason Maus, the league office announced Wednesday morning with the release of the annual OAC Coaches Preseason Poll.
The Polar Bears received 57 points from the conference's ten head coaches in the poll, just 10 points removed from a top-three selection.
Otterbein was selected to repeat as conference champions this year, topping the poll with 79 points and seven first-place votes. Mount Union finished second with 70 points and two first-place votes while John Carroll ended third, boasting 67 points and the remaining first-place nod.
Last season, the Polar Bears posted a 37-13 overall record and earned runner-up honors at the 2018 OAC Indoor Track and Field Championships held at Capital. Northern would score 128 points and trail just OAC champion Otterbein (144 points) in the final team standings at the league-wide event.
The Ohio Northern men's and women's track and field teams will open their respective campaigns with a trip to the Tiffin Dragon Open at NCAA Division II institution Tiffin University on Saturday, January 19, 2019
