Men's Track and Field ends second at Joe Banks Invitational behind three event titles
By Blake Moore
ADA - The Ohio Northern men's track and field program claimed three individual event titles Saturday en route to a second-place team finish at the 2019 Joe Banks Invitational inside the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse.
The Polar Bears (5-1 Overall) finished the meet with 154 points and only trailed team champion Otterbein in the final standings. Meanwhile, ONU defeated Bluffton, Capital, Hanover (Ind.), Heidelberg, and Ohio Christian in the seven-team field.
On the track, sophomore Sam Krabacher (Hamilton/Badin) earned his third individual event title this season, leading a first-through-fourth finish for the Polar Bears in the 1,000-meter run in 2:42.45. Freshman Patrick Baker (Massillon/Jackson), junior Kyle Neff (Sagamore Hills/Walsh Jesuit), and freshman Alan Dravenstott (Medina) trailed Krabacher closely to the line to take second, third, and fourth, respectively.
Senior All-American Ian McVey (Stow/Munroe Falls) claimed the one-mile run title in a meet-record 4:15.13. With his efforts Saturday, McVey set the top time on the OAC performance list and recorded a new personal-best mark in the event.
Additionally, freshman pole vault specialist Luke Shellhaas (Greenville/Versailles) claimed the remaining individual event title with a career-best 4.45-meter (14' 7.25") clearance Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, sophomore Owen Lloyd (Colfax, Ind./Clinton Prairie) and freshman Nate Dean (Euclid/Villa Angela Saint Joseph) recorded runner-up honors in the 60-meter hurdles (8.68) and 400-meter dash (52.99), respectively.
Juniors Noah McKee (Powell/Olentangy Liberty), Zachary Vaughn (Niles/McKinley), and Jordan Smith (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian) and sophomore Colin McCullough (Galion) registered a second-place effort in the 4x200-meter relay in 1:35.87, only trailing Hanover's quartet by one second.
In the field, sophomore Matt Bradshaw (Cleveland/Norton) picked up the remaining second-place finish in the weight throw. He would toss the 30-pound weight 15.17 meters (49' 9.25") on his first throw Saturday afternoon.
The Polar Bears will return to action next weekend when they travel to Otterbein for the All-Ohio Championships on Saturday, February 9.
Team Standings
1. Otterbein 183, 2. Ohio Northern 154, 3. Hanover 102, 4. Heidelberg 88, 5. Bluffton 62, 6. Capital 52, 7. Ohio Christian 24
