Ryan Sommerfeld, AnnaSophia Gower named Polar Bear of the Month winners for October

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — Junior Ryan Sommerfeld (Dublin/Coffman) and freshman AnnaSophia Gower (Perrysburg) have been selected as the Ohio Northern athletic department's Polar Bear of the Month award winners for October.

The award is given monthly to the student-athletes who best represent Ohio Northern University inside and outside of athletics within their given sport and season.

Sommerfeld, a forward on the men's soccer team, recorded 18 points on eight goals and two assists in eight October games. His top highlight during the month was a five-point game on two goals and one assist in a 6-0 win over Muskingum on Oct. 21. He followed that up with a second straight two-goal game in a 5-1 win over Baldwin Wallace on Oct. 25.

Sommerfeld was named Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 23.

He is currently tied for the OAC lead in goals (11) and ranks fourth in the conference in points (26).

The Polar Bears went 6-1-1 in October, ending the regular season on a four-game win streak to earn the No. 2 seed, a first-round bye and a home semifinal game in this week's OAC Tournament.

Gower has led the ONU women's cross country team all season long and paced the Polar Bears in both of their October meets.

She placed 32nd overall with a career-best time of 22:12 at the SUNY Geneseo Mike Woods Invitational on Oct. 14 and was third overall with a time of 22:13 at the OAC Championships on Oct. 28. Her third-place finish at the OACs earned her First Team All-OAC honors and led the Polar Bears to a second-place team finish.

She was named OAC Runner of the Week on Oct. 16.

Gower has been the top-finishing Polar Bear in all six of the team's events this season and has placed in the top six overall in five of those meets.

2023-24 Polar Bear of the Month Honorees