Men's Track & Field: Ohio Northern (0-0 Overall) hosts the annual Joe Banks Invitational

February 1, 2019

Saturday, February 2, 2019, 11 a.m. - ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse, Ada, Ohio

This Weekend's Preview: Seven teams converge on the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse Saturday, February 2nd as the Ohio Northern men's and women's track and field programs host the annual Joe Banks Invitational ... Ohio Northern, Bluffton, Capital, Hanover (Ind.), Heidelberg, Ohio Christian, and Otterbein are all slated to compete this weekend ... Field events are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with running events slated for a 12 p.m. start in Ada ... The Polar Bears are coming off an appearance at the Findlay Alumni Classic & Elite Throws meet last Friday and Saturday ... Over the two-day event, ONU claimed three event titles in the DMR, the 800-meter run, and the 200-meter dash ... The distance medley relay team of junior Andrew Shelton, sophomores Colin McCullough and Sam Krabacher, and senior All-American Ian McVey raced to an event title in 10:28.96 ... Krabacher went on to win his second individual title in 2019, taking the 800-meter run title in 1:58.87 ... In his collegiate debut, freshman Nate Dean topped a 29-man field in the 200-meter dash with a 23.05 clocking ... Meanwhile, sophomores Owen Lloyd and Dawson Paul registered runner-up efforts in the high jump (1.88m) and the 3,000-meter run (9:17.43), respectively ... Last season, Ohio Northern scored 79 points to finish third among a 13-team field in the 2018 Joe Banks Invitational.

Head Coach Jason Maus: Maus is currently in his 10th season leading the Ohio Northern men's and women's track and field programs at Ohio Northern ... He owns a 444-114 career coaching record for the men's indoor track and field season, a .796 win percentage.

Who Was Joe Banks?

Joseph Banks (1919-2007) was a head track and field coach and assistant football coach at Ohio Northern University from 1960 to 1967.

In addition, Banks served as the Associate Director of Admissions (1971-1984), a part-time admissions associate (1985-2002), an assistant professor of physical education, and an athletic trainer for ONU throughout his life. He also spent time as an ONU Alumni Association board member, the Phi Mu Delta Alumni Association treasurer, and the ONU N-Man Association president for Ohio Northern.

Prior to working at ONU, Banks was a high school teacher/coach and a sergeant in the U.S. military. Notably, he served with the Third Army's 965th Ordinance Heavy Automotive Maintenance Company in the Rhineland under General George Patton during the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.

He graduated from Ohio Northern in 1941 with a B.S. in Education and returned for a B.A. degree in 1946. During his undergraduate career at Ohio Northern, Banks was a record-holder and letterwinner for the school's track and field program and a letterwinner on the football team.

In high school, Banks played football for legendary Ohio State University head coach Woody Hayes at Central High School in New Philadelphia, Ohio. He was also a letterwinner for the Central HS track and field program.

Banks was inducted into the ONU Athletic Hall of Fame and the Holmes County Sports Hall of Fame.