Season Review: Men’s Cross Country excited to build off of strong close to 2021 season

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's cross country team had a successful 2021 season, posting its best regional finish since 2017.

After the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 season, ONU returned strong in 2021, opening the year with a second-place finish in the Polar Bear Invitational and closing it with a seventh-place showing in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regionals — its 17th consecutive top-10 finish at the event — for an overall record of 94-39.

"The men's season was challenging. We were up and down, and we battled some injuries and illnesses at key times," 13th-year head coach Jason Maus said. "The biggest thing was that we had great growth and development from some young guys. Some freshmen and sophomores got some good experience at the collegiate level, which was important."

It was a senior who led the way, though, as Patrick Baker (Massillon/Jackson) ran a career-low time of 25:55 to pace the Polar Bears at the regional meet with a 42nd-place finish out of 266 runners as the team scored 277 points. Senior Dylan McKean (Warren/Champion), juniors Breydan Hann (Wooster) and Billy Driemeyer (House Springs, Mo./Lindbergh) and sophomore Kyle Roth (Rockford/Parkway) all finished within the top 69 at regionals. McKean (49th, 26:05), Hann (54th, 26:10) and Roth (69th, 26:24) joined Baker in posting career-low times while Driemeyer placed 63rd with a time of 26:19.

"Our biggest achievement was the regional meet with how we bounced back from a disappointing OAC Championships race. Going into that meet unranked, it was special to see us finish seventh and beat some teams that we hadn't beaten," Maus said. "That was a big accomplishment and gave us a lot of confidence because it showed the type of team that we're capable of being."

After opening 2021 with a season-best second-place finish on the 6,000-meter course at the Polar Bear Invitational, ONU placed fourth at the All-Ohio Championships, 16th at the Louisville Classic, 11th at the Oberlin Rumble and fifth at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships, all of which was in the top half of the respective meet.

Baker proved to be ONU's most prominent runner in 2021. Prior to regionals, he led Northern across the finish line with a fourth-place finish in the Polar Bear Invitational and a 16th-place finish at the All-Ohio Championships with respective times of 18:58 and 26:47.

"Patrick is our leader and go-to guy," Maus said. "He missed some time in the middle of the season, which discombobulated us a little bit because he's the guy that we lean on. But he's fantastic — I'd love to have a team full of guys like him."

Plenty of Polar Bears stepped up to lead the team in Baker's absence.

Driemeyer paced ONU at the Louisville Classic, placing 49th with a career-low time of 25:37, and finished just behind Baker in fifth at the Polar Bear Invitational with a time of 18:59.

"Billy stepped up for us at the Louisville meet," Maus said. "He has to work on his consistency and getting used to the pressure and expectations of being a top guy, but he has a lot of potential."

Hann was the top Polar Bear runner at the Oberlin Rumble, finishing 55th in 27:04, and was second on the team at both the Louisville Classic and the OAC Championships with respective times of 26:21 and 26:40.

"Breydan had his best season ever, and he earned our team MVP award," Maus said. "He stepped up big for us in a lot of situations and was really steady and a guy we ended up leaning on a lot."

McKean led ONU at the OAC Championships, placing 28th with a time of 26:34, and was the second Polar Bear across the finish line at regionals.

"Dylan had a great season and really put it all together there at the end," Maus said. "He's a guy that stepped up and filled some roles when we needed it."

Roth was also a consistent contributor, placing within the top five ONU runners at five of the six meets. He was the second Polar Bear to finish the Oberlin Rumble, placing 65th with a time of 27:13.

"Kyle is starting to come into his own," Maus said. "He's a steady performer that you know every week the kind of race you're going to get out of him and the kind of effort you're going to get from him, which is always maximum."

Seniors Caden Sauerbrey (Dresden/Tri-Valley) and Travis Sutter (Sharpsburg/Fort Recovery), sophomores Ian Ackenhausen (Xenia/Legacy Christian Academy) and Braden Schaser (Fostoria/Lakota) and freshmen Isaac Leighninger (Beavercreek) and Trey Masterson (Tiffin/Hopewell Loudon) also posted top-five finishes among Polar Bears in at least one meet in 2021.

The Polar Bears also succeeded in the classroom, as a school-record 13 runners earned Academic All-OAC honors, which led the conference this year.

That list included seniors Baker, Sutter, Jack Borden (Westerville/North), Nick DeVore (Westerville/North) and Sam Krabacher (Hamilton/Badin); juniors Hann, Brooks Blakeley (Versailles), Skylar Dawson (West Salem/Northwestern) and Connor Lamison (Cranberry Township, Pa./Beaver Area); and sophomores Ackenhausen, Roth, Jared Swartz (Columbia Station/Columbia) and Ian Wallace (Tontogany/Otsego).

Krabacher and Sutter are four-year Academic All-OAC honorees, and Baker and Borden earned the honor for the third time in their careers.

Featuring the likes of John Carroll and Otterbein, which closed the year nationally ranked fourth and 16th, respectively, the OAC raised its game in 2021. Maus sees this ascension as an opportunity for the Polar Bears to level up as well in 2022 to challenge for their first OAC title since 2017.

"We'll return a lot of our core guys, which is the beauty of having the depth that we have, so I'm excited for next season," Maus said.