Season Preview: The Men's Track & Field team looks to continue their success in 2015
The Ohio Northern men's track & field team will look to compete for a conference championship in 2015. Last year, the Polar Bears finished second in the OAC Indoor Championships and third in the OAC Outdoor Championships.
Sixth year head coach Jason Maus welcomes back a solid core of returners that will look to make an impact across the board.
"We return a big core group from last season," said Maus. "We lost a few key components, but return a lot of key point scorers from last season."
Here is how the 2015 Polar Bears break down in every event category:
Sprints
The Polar Bears welcome back juniors Christian Rupe and Jojuan Fisher in the sprint category. Rupe and Fisher both qualified for the NCAA meet last season as part of the 4x100 meter relay team. The duo also scored points at the OAC Championships last season, as well as earned All-OAC honors in the 4x100 meter relay.
Also returning for ONU are seniors Jonathan Roseler and James Rader. Both scored points at the OAC Championships last season and set new personal best in their respective events.
Mid-Distance
The mid-distance group will be led this season by senior Kyle Wagner and sophomore Andrew Harden. Both placed last season at the OAC Outdoor Championships as members of the 4x800 meter relay team that saw a fifth place finish. Harden also had a sixth place finish in the 1-mile at the OAC Indoor Championships.
Also returning are senior Dan Steigerwald and junior William Huddleston, who both placed last season at the OAC Indoor Championships. Steigereald earned a second place finish in the 1,000-meter run and earned All-OAC honors. Huddleston earned a fourth place finish in the 1,000-meter run at the OAC Indoor Championships. Sophomore Ian Mckee also returns for the Polar Bears after a successful campaign last season.
Distance
The group of distance runners will be led this season by senior Nate Rosenbaum, who won the 5,000-meter run at the OAC Indoor Championships, as well as 10,000-meter run at the OAC Outdoor Championships. Rosenbaum placed second in the 3,000 meter run during the Indoor Championships and placed third in the 5,000-meter run at the OAC Outdoor Championships.
Sophomore Aaron Hemmelgarn will also look to contribute in a major way. During his freshman season, Hemmelgarn placed seventh in the 1-mile and third in 3,000-meter run during the OAC Indoor Championships, and fifth in the 5,000-meter run at the OAC Outdoor Championships.
Also returning are junior Eric Wymer and sophomores Cully Gordon and Kase Schalois. All three won letters last season for the Polar Bears and will look to provide greater death in the distance category.
Field
Senior Ryan Brancheau leads the returning jumpers in 2015. Last season, Brancheau placed seventh in the high jump at the OAC Outdoor Championships and was among the top finishers in the high jump at the OAC Indoor Championships. Junior Robbie Brinkman will look to contribute in the triple jump again this season after a successful campaign at the OAC Outdoor Championships last year.
Junior Brandon Ike returns to pole vault this season after notching a seventh place finish at the OAC Outdoor Championships, and looks to build on his performance from last season.
In the throws department, senior Phil Farwig will look to lead the group. Last season, Farwig was sixth in the hammer throw and sixth in the shot put at the OAC Outdoor Championships. Sophomore Dan Arkin will look to continue his success after winning the javelin at the OAC Outdoor Championships a season ago. After earning a letter last season sophomore Lucas Shumate will look to contribute both in the weight throw as well as the hammer this season.
Schedule
The men's and women's teams open the indoor season at the Northwest Ohio Meet at the University of Findlay on Jan. 16. Northern will see its first OAC action of the season, when it travels to Baldwin Wallace for the OAC split meet Jan. 30.
The Polar Bears will host the annual Joe Banks Invitational on Feb. 7 and compete in the All-Ohio Championships at Westerville on Feb. 14.
The OAC Championships will take place at Capital on Feb. 27-28, and then the Polar Bears return home for the Polar Bear Last Chance meet Mar. 7.
The NCAA III Indoor Championships will close out the indoor season on Mar. 13 and Mar. 14 in Winston-Salem, N.C..
The outdoor season opens on Mar. 20 and Mar. 21 with a trip to the Washington & Lee (Va.) Carnival. The Polar Bears will compete in the Cedarville Invitational Mar. 28, followed by the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational Apr. 4. ONU will then travel to Delaware Apr. 11 for the All-Ohio Championships.
Mount Union will host the OAC Championships on Apr. 24 and 25, with the season drawing to a close at the NCAA III Outdoor Championships at Canton, N.Y. on May 21-23.
"We have a good mix of opponents allowing us to be competetive at all levels this season," said Maus. "One of our more competetive meets this season will be our own Joe Banks Invitational, which is made up of some really great teams that will challange us."