Season Review: Women's Track & Field finishes tied for second at OAC Indoor Championship and fifth at OAC Outdoor Championships
By: Andrew Korba
The Ohio Northern women's track & field team continued its improvement from previous seasons.
The Polar Bears posted anothern winning indoor season, with a 42-8-1 record.
In its first scored meet of the season, ONU finished second at the OAC Split Meet and then returned to the ONU Sports Center to win the Joe Banks Invitational.
Northern also finished first of 15 at the Meindel Last Call and would bring home its best finish in recent memory at the OAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, finishing tied for second.
The Polar Bears captured three championships at the meet. Senior Alison Steinbrunner (New Carlisle/Tecumseh) added another title in the 5,000-meter run. She also teamed with senior Lydia Weaver (Chillicothe/Zane Trace), sophomore Catie Huber (Findlay) and freshman Brittany Lee (North Baltimore) to capture the DMR title. In addition, senior Vicki Moga (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) captured the high jump.
In addition, Steinbrunner earned All-OAC honors in the 3,000-meter run and Huber was second in the 800-meter run. Senior Jordan Buchanan (Goshen) finished third to earn All-OAC honors in the 60-meter dash and sophomore Shayla Siefker (Ottoville) was third in the 1-mile run.
The 4x200-meter relay team of sophomore Shannon Hageman (Wooster/Triway), sophomore Gabrielle Metzner (Delphos/St. John's), freshman Kristine Wagner (Mentor) and Buchanan finished third to garner in All-OAC status.
Steinbrunner broke three school records throughout the season in the 1-mile run, 3,000-meter run and 5,000-meter run. In addition, Steinbrunner teamed with Buchanan, Huber and Weaver for the school record in the DMR.
Both Steinbrunner and Moga qualified for the NCAA III Indoor Championships, with Moga finishing tied for 10th place in the high jump.
In the outdoor season, the Polar Bears won the OAC Split Meet and finished 5th of 12 teams at the Kenyon Invitational.
Northern finished fifth at the OAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships, finishing just four points shy of 4th place.
Steinbrunner repeated as the OAC Champion in the 5,000-meter and 10,000-meter run, while Moga captured the high jump.
ONU also had five other All-OAC honors, led by Huber in the 800-meter run and Weaver in the 1,500-meter run.
Freshman Kara Sosinski (Hudson) was third in the 10,000-meter run to earn her first All-OAC honors. Also, the 4x400-meter relay team of Hageman, Huber, Metzer and Wagner and the 4x800-meter relay tandem of juniors Laura Avino (Buffalo, N.Y./Nardin), Erin Radigan (Johnstown/Monroe), Brooke Larsen (Findlay/Liberty-Benton) and Huber finished third for All-OAC honors.
Weaver broke her own record in the 1,500-meter run on back to back weekends.
The Polar Bears finished the outdoor portion of their season with a 28-26-1 record, which was their 20th consecutive outdoor winning season.