Season Review: Women’s Cross Country posts record number of All-OAC finishers, ends 2023 with fourth straight NCAA Championships appearance

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — The Ohio Northern women's cross country team put together a highly successful 2023 season under 15th-year head coach Jason Maus.

The Polar Bears finished with an 84-22 record, placed second at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships with a program-record six All-OAC runners and were seventh at the Great Lakes Regional Championships. The team capped the season with a fourth straight appearance at the NCAA Division III Championships, as freshman AnnaSophia Gower (Perrysburg) qualified for the national meet in Newville, Pa.

"The team was very successful this fall," Maus said. "We talked at the beginning of the season that we'd have to figure out who we are and come together as a team, and I felt like we did that."

Gower placed 10th overall at the regional meet with a career-best time of 21:11, which ranks third all-time at ONU. Her subsequent qualification for the national meet marked the 19th consecutive season that ONU has been represented at the NCAA Championships either by a team or individual in the men's or women's race. She ran a time of 22:40 on the course in Newville to place 116th in the 293-runner field.

A two-time OAC Runner of the Week in 2023, Gower was also named OAC Rookie of the Year and was an All-Great Lakes Region and All-OAC First Team honoree. She was the first Polar Bear across the finish line in all five of ONU's regular-season meets as well as the conference and regional championships. She posted top-six finishes in five of those meets, including a third-place showing at the OACs as she led the Polar Bears to their 21st straight OAC upper-division finish.

"AnnaSophia had a tremendous season," Maus said. "She made the transition to collegiate racing very well."

Gower had plenty of company from her teammates on the All-OAC Team. Seniors Olesya Mertz (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) and Megan Vapenik (Strongsville), junior Ashley Hockstok (Westerville/Central) and sophomores Kennedy Rader (Mason) and Samantha Roth (Brunswick) all posted finishes worthy of All-OAC Second Team status. Mertz was 12th overall followed by Vapenik in 14th, Rader in 16th, Roth in 17th and Hockstok in 20th.

Mertz and Vapenik also joined Gower as the top three ONU finishers at the regional meet, placing 42nd and 44th, respectively, with career-best times of 22:05 and 22:07. They were among the Polar Bears' top seven finishers in all seven meets.

"Olesya and Megan were great seniors for us on and off the course," Maus said. "They were really consistent all season and showed up when we needed them the most."

Hockstok was among ONU's top seven in six meets and ran a season-best 22:32 for a 65th-place finish at regionals. Her career-best time is 22:04, which she set as a sophomore.

"Ashley was solid all year and continues to compete at a high level," Maus said.

Roth placed 68th at the regional meet in a career-low 22:35 and was among ONU's top seven in five events during the season.

"Samantha really improved a lot this year as a sophomore and is making progress to a new level," Maus said.

Rader ran a career-low 22:40 at regionals to place 76th and was among ONU's top seven in three meets in 2023.

"Kennedy overcame a lot after an injury in the summer," Maus said. "Her success at the end of the year was due to her commitment to cross training and work ethic throughout the season."

Junior Olyvia Ashbrook (Johnstown/Northridge) was another top performer for the Polar Bears this season. She was among ONU's top seven in six meets and capped her year with a 58th-place finish at the regional meet in a career-best time of 22:25.

Other runners who were among ONU's top seven finishers in at least one meet in 2023 included senior Sydney Goodrich (Romeo, Mich.), juniors Abby Matthews (Lithopolis/Bloom Carroll) and Larkin Warner (Findlay), sophomores Natalie Armbruster (Cincinnati/Mount Notre Dame) and Dani Widmark (Zanesfiled/Benjamin Logan) and freshman Isa Ramos (Tipp City/Tippecanoe).

The Polar Bears succeeded off the course as well, earning six Academic All-OAC honors. Those earning academic recognition included Mertz, Hockstok, senior Lizzy Dingman (Burton/Berkshire) and sophomores Kaitlin Prusnek (Findlay), Lynncoln Tynan (Marietta) and Nina Zibbel (Bloomdale/Elmwood).