Season Preview: Women’s Track & Field has positive outlook for 2022
By Wes Mayberry
| 2022 Women's Track & Field Schedule |
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's track and field team is excited to begin its 2022 season under 13th-year head coach Jason Maus.
The Polar Bears return 15 letter winners from their 2021 team that went 22-9 and finished third in the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Championships and posted a 34-15 record and fourth-place finish at the OACs in the outdoor portion of the campaign.
"The outlook is pretty positive for this women's team," Maus said. "We have some strong upperclassmen in some areas, and in other areas we're going to rely on some freshmen to step up and contribute right away. It'll be so fun to watch as this team grows and develops throughout the season."
Northern welcomes 25 freshmen to a 2022 roster that returns eight All-OAC performers from a year ago in seniors Taylor Ellerbrock (Columbus Grove), Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) and Kayla Silva (Westerville/South); juniors Lexi Neff (Northfield/Walsh Jesuit) and Anna Schatzle (Brookville, Ind./Franklin County); and sophomores Sydney Goodrich (Romeo, Mich.), J.J. Herron (Miamisburg) and Olivia Ogg (Hebron/Lakewood).
Silva headlines that group, as she returns with a team-high 24 OAC Championship points to her name. She holds school records in three events and is a four-time All-OAC and five-time All-Great Lakes Region performer.
Ellerbrock and Pitcovich are distance runners coming off a successful cross country season in which they both earned All-Great Lakes Region honors, and the latter qualified for the NCAA Division III Championships.
In track and field, Pitcovich has 19 OAC Championship points to her credit and was All-OAC as a second-place finisher in the 10,000-meter run in last year's outdoor conference meet. She is a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree and earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors last season.
Pitcovich holds top-10 marks in program history in two indoor events and three outdoor events.
Ellerbrock is a two-time All-OAC performer after placing second in the outdoor 4x800 meter relay and third in the indoor distance medley relay last season. She is a USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree and two-time Academic All-OAC recipient.
Schatzle, a pole vaulter, is coming off a 2021 season in which she earned All-OAC status with a second-place finish in the outdoor conference championships. She was also named USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region in the outdoor pole vault and was an Academic All-OAC and USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree last season. She holds the ninth-best mark in program history in the indoor vault and seventh-best in the outdoor vault.
Neff, Goodrich and Herron all joined Ellerbrock on the 4x800 meter relay team that earned All-OAC honors last season. Herron, a USTFCCCA All-Academic honoree in 2021, also earned All-OAC status in the distance medley relay with Ellerbrock during the indoor portion of the schedule.
Ogg earned All-OAC last season after placing third in the outdoor pole vault.
The 2022 season gets underway on Friday when the Polar Bears host the Larry Cole Invitational.
Here is a preview of the 2022 ONU women's track and field team, by event groupings.
Distance/Mid-Distance
Pitcovich and Ellerbrock lead this group, which includes fellow senior Rue Whitmore (Mason).
Whitmore, who was named USTFCCCA All-Academic last season, is a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree. She holds top-10 times in program history in the 5,000-meter run indoor event and a pair of outdoor events in the 3,000- and 10,000-meter runs. Whitmore is coming off respective finishes of ninth in the 5,000-meter run and sixth in the 10,000-meter run at the indoor and outdoor OAC Championships.
The letter winners in this event group also include Neff and fellow junior Gabrielle Kowalczyk (Marion/Pleasant) as well as sophomores Goodrich, Herron and Megan Vapenik (Strongsville).
Neff placed sixth indoors and eighth outdoors in the 800-meter run at last season's conference meets in addition to helping the outdoor 4x800-meter relay team to its second-place, All-OAC finish.
In addition to running the 4x800 meters at last year's outdoor OAC Championships, Goodrich placed ninth in the conference in the indoor 1,000 meters and 10th in the outdoor 800 meters.
Herron, a member of last year's All-OAC 4x800 and distance medley relay teams, also placed in the top eight in four sprint events.
Kowalczyk placed 11th in the indoor 800-meter run in 2020 OACs.
Vapenik is coming off a 2021 season in which she placed 11th outdoors and 13th indoors in the 5,000-meter run at the conference meets.
Sophomore Oleysa Mertz (Johnstown) placed fifth indoors in the 1-mile run and 12th outdoors in the 1,500-meter run at the OAC meets last season.
"This group is coming off of a pretty good fall cross country season, so I'm excited to see how we carry that momentum into the winter and spring," Maus said.
Sprints
Silva headlines ONU's sprinters as the school record-holder in the 60-meter dash (:07.82) indoors and the 100-meter dash (:12.25) and 200-meter dash (:25.45) outdoors after setting those marks last season.
She also ranks second all-time at ONU in the 55- and 200-meter dash indoor events.
Silva was a three-time All-OAC honoree in 2021, earning that status with second-place finishes in the outdoor 100-meter dash and indoor 200-meter dash and a third-place in the indoor 60-meter dash.
She also earned All-Great Lakes Region status in the 60- and 200-meter dash indoor events and 100- and 200-meter dash outdoor events last season.
Neff was a member of the indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relay teams that placed fourth and fifth, respectively, at the 2021 conference meets.
Kowalczyk was a member of the indoor 4x400-meter relay team that placed fifth at the OACs in 2020.
Herron posted top-eight finishes in four sprint events in last season's OAC meets, placing fourth in the 4x400-meter relay and fifth in the 500-meter run indoors and fifth in the 4x400-meter relay and eighth in the 400-meter hurdles outdoors.
Senior Mackenzie Detmer (Liberty Center) was a member of ONU's 4x200-meter relay team that placed fifth in the 2020 indoor OAC meet.
Sophomore Allie Starner (Wellington) boasts conference finishes of fifth in the 4x100-meter relay and eighth in the 100-meter hurdles outdoors and sixth in the 60-meter hurdles indoors. She holds the seventh-fastest time in program history in the indoor 60-meter dash.
Sophomore Rosie Schroeder (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) placed fifth in the 4x200-meter relay and seventh in the 60-meter hurdles in last year's OAC indoor meet.
This event group also includes senior Gizem Tanriverdi (Ada), who returns as a one-year letter winner, and a promising freshman in Kendra Krichbaum (Ashland).
"This group will look for contribution from the growth and development of the returners," Maus said. "There are several new freshmen that can make an impact either in the individual events or relays."
Jumps
Silva holds the fifth-best mark in school history in the long jump and is coming off a 2021 season in which she placed seventh and eighth in the indoor and outdoor OACs, respectively.
Detmer placed 10th outdoors in the triple jump at last year's OACs.
This group also includes pole vaulters Schatzle, Ogg and junior Cienna Kuhn (Elida).
Schatzle placed sixth at last season's indoor OACs en route to her All-OAC, second-place finish at the outdoor meet.
Ogg also improved from the indoor to outdoor season in 2021, moving from 11th in the conference to third to earn All-OAC status.
Kuhn, who earned Academic All-OAC and USTFCCCA All-Academic last season, placed eighth in both the indoor and outdoor OAC meets.
Chloe Gibson (Ostrander/Buckeye Valley) and Toria Ingalls (Tiffin/Columbian) are promising freshmen in the long jump and high jump, respectively.
"There is a strong group of pole vaulters to lead the way and some key additions in the high jump and long jump that could make an immediate impact," Maus said.
Throws
Sophomore Natalie Garrett (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) leads ONU's entries in the throw events as a returnee with seven career OAC Championship points to her credit.
She posted a seventh-place finish in the weight throw at the 2021 OAC indoor meet and finishes of fourth in the hammer throw and 17th in the shot put at the OAC outdoor meet.
Garrett ranks sixth in program history in the weight throw and fourth all-time in the hammer throw.
Detmer competed in the javelin throw last season, placing 15th in that event at the outdoor OAC meet.
Freshman Sami Sellers (Van Wert/Lincolnview) is also expected to contribute.
"Several freshmen will look to Natalie to show them the way," Maus said. "This group works well together, and as they navigate their first collegiate season, we'll see great improvement as the season progresses."