Shelton, Sutter, 4x400-meter relay win titles, guide Men's Track & Field to runner-up finish at Muskingum Invitational

By Blake Moore

NEW CONCORD — Junior Andrew Shelton (Williamsville, N.Y./South), sophomore Travis Sutter (Fort Recovery), and the 4x400-meter relay squad each claimed event titles Saturday at McConagha Stadium, leading the Ohio Northern men's track and field program to a runner-up finish at the Muskingum Invitational in New Concord.

The Polar Bears (12-1 Overall) ended the day with 85.5 points, which finished second overall in the 14-team field. Case Western Reserve claimed the team crown with 118 points, and Walsh rounded out the top-three programs with 78 points.

Shelton captured the 800-meter run title with a career-best 1:59.02 clocking Saturday afternoon, edging out the Ohio State Running Club's Drew Davis (1:59.57) and Ohio Wesleyan's Justin Winfield (1:59.62) for first place.

Meanwhile, Sutter also brought home an individual event title in the 2,000-meter steeplechase competition. The sophomore from Fort Recovery crossed the tape in 6:27.39 to win the race and establish a new meet record.

The Polar Bears capped the meet with a victory in the 4x400 relay for their third and final event title. The Ohio Northern "B" grouping raced to a 3:33.05 finish, narrowly defeating the Case Western Reserve "A" team, who crossed in 3:33.43.

In the field, ONU registered two top-five finishes after sophomore Matt Bradshaw (Cleveland/Norton) and freshman Luke Shellhaas (Greenville/Versailles) ended third in the discus and pole vault events, respectively. The former launched the discus a career-best 46.90 meters (153' 10") while the latter was just off his top career effort with a 4.40-meter clearance.

Northern recorded six additional top-five finishes on the track during Saturday's meet.

In the 1,500-meter run, freshman Caden Sauerbrey (Dresden/Tri-Valley) and sophomore Sam Krabacher (Hamilton/Badin) ended third and fifth with 4:08.11 and 4:10.15 efforts, respectively.

Additionally, sophomore Colin McCullough (Galion) took home third place in the 400-meter hurdles. His 57.08 clocking also set a new career-best for the Galion native.

Freshman distance runner Dawson Paul (Maineville/Little Miami) joined Sutter among the top-five finishers in the 2k steeplechase. In his first collegiate outdoor meet, he recorded a 6:41.36 finish to end fourth in the 15-participant field.

Sophomores Jared Fox (Fremont/Ross) and Owen Lloyd (Colfax, Ind./Clinton Prairie) rounded out the top-five performances, claiming fifth in the 400-meter dash and 110-meter hurdles in :51.22 and :15.79, respectively.

The Polar Bears will return to action next weekend with a trip to the Emory (Ga.) Invitational. The two-day event will be held Friday, March 29 and Saturday, March 30.

Final Team Scores

1.) Case Western Reserve 118, 2.) Ohio Northern 85.5, 3.) Walsh 78, 4.) Malone 69, 5.) Baldwin Wallace 60, 6.) Ohio State Running Club 57, 7.) Ohio Wesleyan 52.5, 8.) Washington & Jeff. (Pa.) 51, 9.) Mount Vernon Nazarene 49, 10.) Muskingum 48.5, 11.) Marietta 44, 12.) Heidelberg 43, 13.) Ohio Dominican 18.5, 14.) Lake Erie 14