Ohio Northern Sports Year in Review -
Winter 2004-05

July 29, 2005

By Zach Stipe

Before beginning yet another chapter in Ohio Northern sports this fall, let us first take a quick look back at the 2004-05 year in sports. In the second installment of a three-part series, we remember the 2004-05 winter season.

Men’s Basketball
In head coach Joe Campoli’s final year at the helm of ONU’s men’s basketball program, the Polar Bears finished 14-12 overall and 11-7 in the OAC. Campoli leaves the program after winning the NCAA Division III National Title in 1993 and finished with a career record of 254 – 101 in 13 seasons. Before becoming the head coach he served as an assistant coach at ONU for 13 years.

In 2004-05, the Polar Bears earned the fourth seed in the OAC Tournament, but lost to Muskingum in the quarterfinals 81-63 on February 23. The team had an up and down season, winning four games in a row early on only to follow up with five straight losses. The team closed out the regular season, however, with wins in nine of its last 13 games.

Sophomore Greg Badenhop led the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game while being named Second Team All-OAC. On the heels of five consecutive 20-point performances and leading the team to a 105-66 victory over Heidelberg, Badenhop was named OAC Player of the Week on January 3.

Senior Phil Hoying was named Honorable Mention All-OAC after averaging 9.1 points per game and leading the team with 29 blocks. Junior Nate Lieb averaged 10.2 points per game while starting all 26 games for the Polar Bears. Senior Mark Killian led the team in rebounds, snagging 4.6 a game.

Women’s Basketball
The Ohio Northern women’s basketball season started off the 2004-05 season on fire with wins in eight of their first 11 games. The Polar Bears, however, succumbed to a rigorous Ohio Athletic Conference schedule, finishing 11-15 overall and 6-12 in the OAC. Coached by fourth-year head coach Michelle Durand, ONU fell to Baldwin-Wallace 72-58 to end its season in the OAC Tournament quarterfinals.

Freshman forward Erin Brand led the team in scoring with 11.5 points per game and was second in rebounding averaging 4.6 a game. Brand was named Honorable Mention All-OAC. Senior forward Jen Hrovat averaged a team-leading 4.7 rebounds a game and was second on the team in scoring averaging 9.3 point per contest.

Senior guard Sandy Zeigler led the team in minutes per game with 27.3 and dished out a team-leading 48 assists. Senior forward Jenny Beane and senior guard Jenny Fruth were both named to the First Team Academic All-OAC.

Also, freshmen guard Jenny Markle was the only Lady Polar Bear to earn OAC Player of the Week Honors. Markle accomplished this feet on December 6, after scoring a team-high 19 points in a 71-69 victory over Mount Union on December 4.

Wrestling
Led by 17^th-year head coach Ron Beaschler, the Ohio Northern wrestlers claimed the 2004-05 Ohio Athletic Conference regular season champion ship with a 6-0 duals record in the conference. The team finished 12-4 overall and finished second in the OAC Tournament behind John Carroll.

The Polar Bears were ranked as high as 18^th in the nation and traveled to Las Vegas for the Desert Duals and finished 13^th at the Wheaton College Invitational in Illinois. Each year the team hosts the ONU Invitational at the ONU Sports Center. The Polar Bears finished seventh at their home invitational this season on December 11.

Junior Ty Klofta won the OAC title in the 125-pound weight class to earn a trip to the NCAA III National Championships. Klofta placed eighth at the championships to earn All-American honors. Klofta was also runner-up at the ONU Invitational.

Freshman Drew Schafer opened up his ONU career with an OAC Championship in the 141-pound weight class, earning him a trip to the NCAA Division III National Championships in just his first collegiate season.

Junior Chris Bailey and freshman Jordan Spohn were both All-OAC honorees, placing second in the 197-pound and 157-pound weight classes respectively.

Senior Nathan Shearer, Bailey, Klofta and Schafer were each named OAC Wrestler of the Week during the regular season.

Men’s Swimming
First-year head coach Peggy Ewald led the Ohio Northern men’s swimming and diving team to its first ever OAC title in 2004-05. The team was able to bounce back from a 5-7 overall record and a conference loss to John Carroll to win the OAC Championships on February 12.

Junior Lukas Leitnaker and sophomore Nick Frankle were named OAC Co-Swimmers of the Year after their outstanding performances at the championship meet. Leitnaker was the OAC Champion in the 200-yard butterfly, 200-yard IM and 400-yard IM. Frankle topped the rest of the OAC in the 100-yard breaststroke, 200-yard breaststroke and 1650-yard freestyle.

The 200-yard medley relay team of Frankle, junior Justin Hiskey, freshmen Mike Anderson and John Miller raced to an OAC Championship, while the 400-meter medley relay team of Frankle, Hiskey, Anderson and Leitnaker was an OAC Champion as well. Their time of 3:36.68 set a new school record.

Sophomore Matt Phillips earned OAC Diver of the Year behind his OAC Championship in the 1-meter diving and second place finish in the 3-meter diving. Senior Zach Weber won the 3-meter diving and finished second in the 1-meter diving.

Anderson finished second in the 100-yard butterfly and in the 500-yard freestyle with a school record time of 4:55.31 to earn All-OAC honors. Hiskey and senior Jarrod Mottice finished second and third in the 100-meter backstroke and the 200-meter backstroke to capture All-OAC honors as well.

Ewald was named the men’s OAC Coach of the Year in just her first season in charge of the Polar Bear swimming and diving program.

Women’s Swimming
First-year head coach Peggy Ewald led the women’s swimming and diving team to a third place finish at the OAC Championships on February 12 and a 4-8 overall record and 2-2 mark in the OAC.

Four Northern athletes earned OAC Championships. The 200-yard and 400-yard medley relay teams of sophomore Kristen Dickey, sophomore Jessica Ewald, freshman Mary Williams and senior Lindsey Jakubchak finished first in the OAC, with both teams setting school records. Williams won the 100-yard backstroke, and Jessica Ewald earned victories in 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke.

Others garnering All-OAC accolades were Dickey, Jakubchak, Williams, Ewald, juniors Emily Gruenhagen and Julia Wilson. Dickey finished second in 100-meter butterfly, third in 200-meter butterfly and third in 200-yard IM. Jakubchak set school records in the 200-yard IM (2:13.79) and the 400-yard IM (4:43.20) while finishing second in both those events and third in the 200-yard backstroke.

Gruenhagen was third in the 1650-yard freestyle, and Wilson was third in the 100-yard backstroke. The 400-yard freestyle relay of Dickey, Gruenhagen, Jakubchak and Williams finished second. Ewald, Jakubchak, Dickey and Gruenhagen teamed up to grab third-place in the 800-yard freestyle relay.

Men's Indoor Track & Field
The Ohio Northern men's indoor track & field team placed third at the 2004-05 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, earning 87.5 team points at the meet. Led by eighth-year head coach Brian Cole, the Polar Bears finished with a 60-11 overall record, placing in the top two at six meets with one first-place finish.

Junior pole vaulter Chris Schmauder earned a spot in the NCAA III Championships with an NCAA Provisional mark of 15' 5.75". Schmauder placed 12th at the national meet.

Several Polar Bears set new ONU school records during the indoor season. The 4x200 meter relay team of senior Chad Nelson, sophomores Jonathan Graupmann and Dustin Morr and freshman Ryan Robertson ran a 1:29.90 on February 18 to establish a new school mark.

Junior Sean Koran set a new ONU record with a 2:33.17 in the 1,000-meter run, while fellow junior Brad Schroeder ran an ONU-record 15:15.22 in the 5,000-meter run.

Senior Jason Horn broke the school record with a throw of 56' 11.5" in the 35# weight throw.

Horn was one of several ONU athletes to win OAC Championships in their events. Horn won the weight throw, while Robertson won the 55-meter dash and was a member of the team that won the 4x200 meter relay at the conference championships.

Nelson, Schroeder and Koran were also All-OAC honorees. Nelson placed second in the 300, Schroeder finished second in the 5,000 and Koran came in third in the 800.

Women's Indoor Track & Field
The Ohio Northern women's indoor track & field team placed second at the 2004-05 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, earning 108.5 team points at the meet. Led by eighth-year head coach Brian Cole, the Polar Bears finished with a 64-7 overall record, winning three meets and placing second in five more.

Sophomore high jumper Sara McGinnis earned All-American honors with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA III Indoor Championships. McGinnis qualified for the national championships with an NCAA Provisional qualifying mark of 5' 6.5". The height was also an ONU school record.

McGinnis won the OAC Championship in the high jump as well. Junior Amanda Dittmar claimed the 500-meter run individual championship, while junior Cindy Dircksen won the 20# weight throw event at the conference meet.

Many ONU athletes earned All-OAC honors in their individual events. The 4x400 meter relay of seniors Kristi Sisler and Rachelle Younger, Dittmar and sophomore Lauren Ernst placed second, while Ernst and Sisler were also all-conference in the 400 and the 500 respectively.

Dircksen placed third in the shot put, while sophomore Lauren Crook was third in the 1,500.

The distance medley relay team of senior Jen Vandeveer, Crook and sophomores Jaclyn Kessler and Darci Walthew earned All-OAC honors with a third place finish. The DMR team set a new school record with their time of 12:27.66 at the conference meet.

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