The Ohio Northern women's indoor track and field team will look to pick up where it left off in 2017 and compete for an Ohio Athletic Conference championship and compete as a national force in 2018 under the guidance of ninth-year head coach Jason Maus.
The Polar Bears enter the season ranked fifth nationally in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Div. III Power Rankings, after finishing fifth as a team at the 2017 Indoor National Championships, posting the best team finish in school history.
Northern finished second at the 2017 Indoor OAC Championships a season ago and claimed the OAC title at the outdoor OAC Championships for the first time in seven years.
Maus and his staff welcome back 22 letter winners in 2018, including 5-time National Champion Emily Richards (Delaware/Hayes) and 2-time All-American Maddy Reed (Piketon).
"Our goals remain the same this season," said head coach Jason Maus. "We feel like we are a top-2 or 3 team in the conference and we want to be in the mix for a conference title this season. I'm looking forward to another good year for us."
Schedule
Northern will open its 2018 campaign on Friday, Jan. 19 as its travels to Berea to compete in the OAC North Split Meet at Baldwin Wallace University.
After the OAC Split meet, the Polar Bears will compete at both the Findlay Classic & Elite Throws meet and the Midwest Track & Field Open, hosted at the SPIRE Institute on Jan. 26-27.
Northern will host its first home meet on Feb. 3, as it hosts the annual Joe Banks Invitational at the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse.
ONU will compete in the All-Ohio Championships on Feb. 10 in Westerville, before traveling to Gambier to compete in the Kenyon Classic on Feb. 17.
After traveling to Bexley to take part in the OAC Championships on Feb. 23-24, Northern will host the Polar Bear Last Chance Invitational on Mar. 3-4 at the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse.
The NCAA III Indoor National Championships are slated for Mar. 9-10 in Birmingham, Alabama at the CrossPlex complex.
Northern will open the outdoor season on Mar. 24 as it competes in the Polar Bear Invitational, hosted by Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion, Ind.
After competing in the Otterbein April Fools Invitational on Mar. 30, ONU will travel to Upland, Ind. to take part in the George Glass Invitational on Apr. 7.
After traveling to Delaware to compete in the All-Ohio Championships on Apr. 14, Northern will host back-to-back meets, including the annual Polar Bear Invitational on Apr. 21 and the Outdoor OAC Championships on Apr. 27-28.
The Polar Bears will also compete in the North Central (Ill.) Keeler Invitational on May 10-11 and the North Central (Ill.) Gregory Invitational on May 16-17.
The NCAA III Outdoor National Championships will take place in LaCrosse, Wis. on May 24-26.
