Six Lady Polar Bear runners named to Academic All-OAC teams

Joy Kessler	Regina Bresson

May 15, 2008

By Zach Stipe

ADA — Six Ohio Northern cross country and track & field female athletes received Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference honors Thursday in voting conducted by the conference’s ten faculty representatives.

Juniors Joy Kessler (Republic/Attica Seneca East) and Regina Bresson (Canfield) earned Academic All-OAC First Team honors, while senior Natasha Axton (Cambridge) and sophomores Rachel Smith (Bellevue), Janelle Jansen (Celina/Coldwater) and Karen Thatcher (Jefferson Hills/Thomas Jefferson) were named Honorable Mention.

Kessler, making her second straight appearance on the Academic All-OAC team, was a member of the OAC Champion 4x400 relay at the OAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships on April 30. In addition, Kessler, a social studies and history major, finished fifth in the 400-meter dash and was third in the 500-meter run at the indoor conference championships. Kessler is an 11-time All-OAC honoree and is a member of the ONU-record indoor and outdoor 4x800 relays.

Bresson, a pharmacy major, finished fourth in the 10,000-meter run at the OAC Outdoor Championships and finished in ONU’s top five during every cross country race in the fall. Bresson also claimed first in the 10,000 at the All-Ohio Championships in a career-best 39:11.78 and finished fourth in the 5,000 and fifth in the 3,000 at the OAC Indoor Championships.

Natasha Axton	Rachel Smith

Axton, a forensic biology major, was the Polar Bears’ top javelin performer with a season-best toss of 107-6.

Smith, a professional writing major, was ONU’s top cross country runner in seven of eight races in the fall and earned All-OAC honors. During track, Smith was fourth in the 1-mile run and sixth in the 800 at the OAC Indoor Championships, and was fifth in the 1,500 at the OAC Outdoor Championships.

Jansen and Thatcher both earned All-OAC as members of the third-place 4x100 relay team at the OAC Outdoor Championships.

Jansen, a nursing major, was also sixth in the pole vault at the OAC Outdoor Championships and seventh at the OAC Indoor Championships.

Janelle Jansen	Karen Thatcher

Thatcher, a pharmacy major, placed in the triple jump (eighth), long jump (sixth) and 400 (eighth) at the Outdoor OAC Championships and was seventh in the long jump and part of the fifth-place 4x200 at the OAC Indoor Championships.

To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 GPA, be a starter or key reserve and be in at least his second year of participation in the sport.

To be eligible for Academic All-OAC, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.25 cumulative grade point average, be a starter or key reserve and be in at least his second year of participation in the sport.