Season Preview: Men’s Cross Country excited for return of competition in 2021
By Wes Mayberry
| 2021 Men's Cross Country Schedule |
ADA — A run of three straight conference titles for the Ohio Northern men's cross country team came to an end in 2018, and the Polar Bears enter the 2021 season hungry to regain that top spot under 13th-year head coach Jason Maus.
"We've got some growing to do, and there are some pretty good teams in the conference. We've been in the top three in the conference in 14 of the last 15 years, so that's our first step is to get back there after finishing fourth a year ago," Maus said. "We have six of the seven guys back who ran at the regional meet in 2019. But we haven't had a cross country season since 2019, so it's been a challenge in that aspect because we have two classes that don't have a ton of experience running 8,000 meters, so there will be some learning and growing early on."
The Polar Bears placed third (2018) and fourth (2019) in the past two Ohio Athletic Conference Championship meets and saw their 2020 season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last meet they competed in was the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships on Nov. 16, 2019, so they're ready to retake the course this fall.
"There's a lot of excitement," Maus said. "A lot of these kids have talked about how excited they are to get back into cross country, which is really energizing and neat to see."
ONU opens the 2021 season on Sept. 4 by hosting the Polar Bear Invitational, marking the first time since 2012 that they've started their season with a home meet.
The Polar Bears return eight letter winners for 2021 headlined by senior Travis Sutter (Sharpsburg/Fort Recovery). A three-year letter winner and two-time Academic All-OAC honoree, Sutter earned All-OAC Second Team recognition in 2018 and All-Great Lakes Region accolades in 2019.
Sutter was among the team's top two finishers in all seven of its meets in 2019, including placing second overall in the Bluffton 6K and fifth overall in the Ohio Wesleyan Invitational. He placed 34th in the 2019 NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional Championships and enters his senior season with a personal-best time of 25:54.
"With Travis, it's great to have his experience. He is a blue-collar kid who shows up every day and works his tail off, and he sets a great example in that aspect," Maus said. "He's grown a ton in his time here and has become more vocal. We're fortunate to have him around. We have a big team that needs lots of strong leaders, and he's certainly one of them."
Seniors and two-year letter winners Patrick Baker (Massillon/Jackson) and Sam Krabacher (Hamilton/Badin) also return for the Polar Bears for 2021.
Baker was one of the team's top two finishers in five of seven events in 2019 and earned Academic All-OAC honors. He was the top Polar Bear finisher in the 2019 OAC Championships, placing 25th. His career-best time is 26:01.
"Patrick has grown a ton. He has seen steady improvement every single year, and he does a great job of leading by example," Maus said. "He does things the right way, and the guys look up to him."
Krabacher, a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree, enters the season with a career-best time of 26:48.
"Sam is in the same boat as Travis — he's a fifth-year kid, and it's nice to have those guys around," Maus said. "They have tons of experience and can help the underclassmen who don't have a ton of experience."
Seniors Dylan McKean (Warren/Champion), Caden Sauerbrey (Dresden/Tri-Valley) and Alessandro Tramontano (Highland Heights/Mayfield) and juniors Billy Driemeyer (House Springs, Mo./Lindbergh) and Breydan Hann (Wooster) are returning one-year letter winners for ONU.
Maus said he's looking for Driemeyer, Hann and McKean as well as sophomores Braden Schaser (Fostoria/Lakota) and Kyle Roth (Rockford/Parkway) to be contributors this season for what is a sizable team.
"We're in a unique situation this year with 46 guys on the roster. To my knowledge, this is the biggest men's cross country team we've ever had," Maus said. "That brings a unique aspect with keeping guys engaged. But it does add a lot of depth with guys pushing each other."
The Polar Bears are scheduled to compete in five regular-season meets in 2021. After opening the season at home on Sept. 4, they will run in the All-Ohio Championships in Cedarville on Sept. 17 and close out the month at the Findlay Oiler Invite on Sept. 24. The regular season concludes with the Louisville Classic in Kentucky on Oct. 2 and the Oberlin Rumble on Oct. 16.
The OAC Championships are scheduled for Oct. 30 at Wilmington.
The NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regionals are Nov. 13 in Shelbyville, Ind., and the NCAA Division III Championships are Nov. 20 in Louisville, Ky.