Men's Indoor Track & Field captures third straight OAC Indoor Track & Field Championship

MARIETTA - Senior Alan Bowsher, sophomore Dan Smith and the 4x200-meter relay team led the Ohio Northern men's track & field team to the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Track & Field Championship Saturday afternoon at Marietta.

This marks the third straight season that the men have won the OAC Championship and the fifth time overall.

The Polar Bears scored 155 points, while Mount Union finished second with 119.5 points.

The Ohio Northern coaching staff was named OAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Coaching Staff of the Year for the team's performance.

Smith won the 1,000-meter run in 2:36 and was second in the mile run in 4:23.23. He now earned All-OAC honors in three different events this meet after helping the distance medley relay claim victory yesterday.

Bowsher claimed victory in the 5,000-meter run in a time of 15:15.60, nearly 10 seconds ahead of the field.

Juniors Shane Huntley, Ryan Fleming and Evan Heyman and sophomore Jacob Schwab competed together in the 4x200-meter relay and earned an OAC Championship in a time of 1:31.31.

The Polar Bears were solid in the 400-meter dash with three placers, as Schwab (50.77) and Heyman (50.99) were both All-OAC with second- and third-place finishes, respectively. Senior Joe Amstutz was sixth in 51.99.

Heyman, Fleming and Schwab all placed in the 200-meter dash. Heyman (23.06) was fourth, Fleming (23.21) was seventh and Schwab (23.25) was eighth.

Fleming and Huntley earned All-OAC honors in other events as well. Fleming was third in the 55-meter dash in 6.54, while Huntley was third in the 500-meter run in 1:07.18.

Senior Mike Johnson finished the 500-meter dash in fifth place in 1:08.62.

In the 4x400-meter relay, Ohio Northern again garnered All-OAC honors with a third-place finish. Junior Garrett Brown, Huntley, Johnson and Schwab each ran a leg of the race.

Junior Jacob Schoenlein was fifth in the 5,000-meter run in 15:30.58, and junior Jared Simon was eighth in 15:50.76.

Polar Bears also placed in mile and the 1,000-meter run. Freshman Ben Ankrom was All-OAC in the mile with a third-place finish in 4:24.84. Junior Tobias Deardorff finished the race in sixth place in 4:30.19.

In the 1,000-meter run, junior Travis Isenberg was sixth in 2:41.45.

Ankrom also placed eighth in the 800-meter run in 2:04.26, while junior Corey Bailey earned All-OAC accolades with a third-place finish in 2:00.25.

Brown (8.11) and Tim Polack (8.27) finished fourth and sixth in the 55-meter hurdles, respectively.