Men's Indoor Track and Field picked to finish third by OAC coaches

By Wes Mayberry

| OAC Coaches Poll (.pdf) |

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's indoor track and field team was picked to finish third in the 2024 Ohio Athletic Conference Coaches Preseason Poll, the league announced on Friday.

The Polar Bears, under 15th-year head coach Jason Maus, received 66 points and one first-place vote in the poll.

Eleven-time defending champion Mount Union was picked to win the league with 81 points and the remaining nine first-place votes.

John Carroll was picked second with 72 points, and Otterbein was picked fourth with 51 points.

ONU placed third behind Mount Union and John Carroll at the 2023 OAC Indoor Championships, finishing the season with a record of 21-2.

The Polar Bears return 33 lettermen for 2024, including All-American senior Keegan Digby (Bowling Green/Otsego), who was the OAC champion in the shot put and placed fourth in the event at the NCAA Championships.

Northern opened its 2024 season with a small group of student-athletes competing at the Findlay Oiler Opener on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1. Junior Tyrese Barker (Columbus/Bishop Hartley) broke his own school record with a time of :08.42 to win the 60-meter hurdles, and Digby fell just short of his school-record mark in the shot put with a winning distance of 17.11 meters.

The Polar Bears return to action on Jan. 19 hosting the fifth annual Larry Cole Invitational at 5 p.m.

2024 OAC Men's Indoor Track and Field Coaches Poll