Women's Track and Field races to 28 point lead after Day 1 of OAC Outdoor Championships

WILMINGTON — The Ohio Northern women's track and field team raced to a 28.75 point lead on the first day of the 2025 Ohio Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships on a wet and rainy Thursday.

The Basics

• Record: Ohio Northern (35-5 Overall).
• Venue: Williams Stadium - Wilmington, Ohio.

Meet Results

• Ohio Northern is first of 10 teams with 90 points after eight of the 21 events.
• John Carroll is second with 61.25 points, Mount Union is third with 54.25 points and Otterbein is fourth with 34 points.
• The meet consists of 21 events, including eight field events, 10 running events and three relays.
• The top three individual finishers in each event and the top three relays earn All-Conference honors.

Top ONU Performers

• Senior Hannah Friend (Luckey/Eastwood) won the discus with a heave of 41.58 meters.
• Junior All-American Claire Schweller (Paulding) and Ellie Ford (Upper Arlington) finished 1-2 in the pole vault.
• Schweller won by clearing 3.80 meters and Ford was second at 3.53 meters. Both earned All-Conference honors.
• Freshman Emersyn Gerken (Liberty Center) won the high jump by clearing 1.62 meters.
• Junior Natalie Armbruster (Cincinnati/Mount Notre Dame) and sophomore AnnaSophia Gower (Perrysburg) earned All-OAC kudos in the 3000 Steeplechase with personal best times.
• Armbruster was second in 11:16.43 and Gower was third in 11:19.12.
• Senior Jaclyn Boardman (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) was fourth in the pole vault at 3.28 meters.
• Senior Sami Sellers (Van Wert/Lincolnview) was fourth in the discus at 39.86 meters.
• Junior Kennedy Rader (Mason) was fourth in the 10,000-meter run in 39:01.54
• Junior Lindsay Weininger (Upper Sandusky) was fourth in the high jump at 1.59 meters.
• Junior Lauryn Wolters (Anna) was fifth in the long jump at 5.06 meters.
• Senior Izzy Burman (Benton Ridge/Liberty Benton) was sixth in the discus at 38.00 meters.
• Sophomore Katelyn Wagner (Sycamore/Wynford) was fifth in the javelin with a toss of 34.81 meters.
• Senior Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) was seventh in the 10,000 in 39:46.08.
• The 4x800-meter relay team of junior Kaitlin Prusnek (Findlay), freshman Grace Cholic (Westerville/Columbus School for Girls), senior Abby Matthews (Lithopoli /Bloom Carroll) and sophomore Lily Wolfe (Mansfield/Lexington) finished fourth in 9:42.88.

Notables

• Ohio Northern is the defending OAC Outdoor Champions and is gunning for its fifth OAC Outdoor Championships title in 2025.
• Schweller is now a two-time OAC Champion in the pole vault after winning the 2024 title.
• Gerken moves into a tie for eighth place on ONU's all-time career high jump list at 5' 3.75".
• Armbruster remained No. 2 on ONU's top-10 list in the 3000 steeple, while Gower moved into the No. 3 spot on the list. 
• Freshman Tatum Walsh (Lima/Bath) advanced to the finals in the 400 with a personal best prelim time of 58.27, which keeps her in third on ONU's all-time list.
• Schweller currently ranks eighth nationally in the pole vault at 3.94 meters.
• Ford is currently ranked No. 24 nationally in the event.
• Burman is now ranked 12th nationally in the hammer and 16th nationally in the shot.
• Friend is now ranked No. 23 nationally in the shot and is No. 29 nationally in the discus.
• The top 22 in each event at the end of the season qualify for the NCAA III Championships May 22-24 in Geneva, Ohio.
• Head Coach Jason Maus is in his 16th year at Ohio Northern and is 525-178-3 in women's outdoor track and field for a winning percentage of .746.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will wrap up the OAC Championships on Friday.