Women's Track & Field places 10 on Academic All-OAC squad in 2019

May 21, 2019

By Blake Moore

ADA — Ten student-athletes were named to the Academic All-Ohio Athletic Conference squad in women's track and field for the 2019 season, the league office announced Tuesday morning.

Seniors Taylor Fisher (Wapakoneta), Sydney McCluer (Columbus Grove), Kristina Myers (Grove City/Central Crossing), Elizabeth Steele (Tempe, Ariz/Corona del Sol), and Mallory Weininger (Upper Sandusky), juniors Maggie Krause (Chagrin Falls/Kenston), Melinda McIntosh (Farmersville/Valley View), and Allison Stevens (Naperville, Ill./Central), and sophomores Kylie Vestal (Youngstown/Austintown-Fitch) and Megan Wright (Eaton/Twin Valley South) were all honored this season.

To receive Academic All-OAC honors, student-athletes must be a sophomore-or-higher in academic standing, maintain varsity-level status during the season, and own a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade-point average.

The OAC office recognized 417 student-athletes from the league's 10 member institutions in 10 sports this spring for their commitment to academic excellence. In all, Ohio Northern had 57 student-athletes honored with the award.

Fisher is a fourth-year pharmacy student who competes in the sprints and hurdles at ONU.

This season, she helped guide the indoor and outdoor 4x400-meter relay squads to fourth-place finishes and ended eighth individually in the outdoor 400 hurdles at the OAC Championships. The senior also established a career-best 1:01.28 in the 400 during the indoor season.

Fisher leaves the program with 42.5 OAC Championship points. She is a three-time Academic All-OAC honoree, a three-time OAC Champion in the 4x400 relay, a six-time All-OAC honoree, a four-time All-Great Lakes Region selection, a 2018 USTFCCCA All-Academic pick, and a two-time ONU record holder.

McCluer, a senior nursing major, also received her third consecutive Academic All-OAC honor.

In 2019, she placed seventh in the 400-meter hurdles at the OAC Outdoor Championships and ended eighth in the 60-meter hurdles at the OAC Indoor Championships. She added career-best marks in the 60 hurdles (9.41), 60 dash (8.48), 200 dash (26.90), and 400 hurdles (1:06.21) this season.

Through four seasons, McCluer has compiled 11.5 OAC Championship points.

Myers, a senior biology/biochemistry student, becomes a six-time Academic All-OAC honoree with three honors each in cross country and track and field.

The Grove City native recorded her first career OAC Championship points with a seventh-place finish in the outdoor 10,000 in 39:42.28. She also posted a career-best 18:41.37 5k clocking this season at the Dr. Keeler Invitational.

Myers will leave the program with two career championship points.

Steele joins Myers as a six-time Academic All-OAC selection with three honors in cross country and three in track and field.

In 2019, the distance specialist posted career-best times with a 12:14.30 effort in the 3,000 and a 20:45.04 clocking in the 5,000.

Weininger, a senior civil engineering major, is now a three-time honoree.

During her final season, she posted two fourth-place finishes in the high jump at the OAC indoor and outdoor championships. She posted two career-best marks as well, clearing 1.62 meters in the high jump and bounding 9.91 meters in the triple jump.

Weininger will graduate with 21 career OAC Championship points and three Academic All-OAC honors in track and field.

Krause is a junior studying biology who specializes in the pole vault.

This season, she earned her second career All-America honor in the event with a seventh-place finish at the 2019 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. In addition, she won her first OAC title during the indoor season, added a conference runner-up honor in the outdoor campaign, and claimed two All-Great Lakes Region honors.

The junior has qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships with the seventh-best vault in the country this season at 3.88 meters, which tied a career-best performance. She will compete on Thursday at noon at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.

Through three seasons, Krause is a two-time All-American, a four-time national qualifier, a four-time All-Great Lakes Region selection, a one-time OAC Champion, a four-time All-OAC pick, a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree, and a one-time USTFCCCA All-Academic squad selection. She also owns 34 career OAC Championship points.

McIntosh, a junior psychology and criminal justice major, is a first-time honoree.

She registered career-best marks this season in the 60 hurdles and 100 hurdles with 9.66 and 15.65 clockings, respectively.

The junior currently owns 7.5 career OAC Championship points. She is also a one-time All-OAC honoree in the 100-meter hurdles, which she claimed during the 2018 outdoor conference meet.

Stevens is a junior chemistry major being recognized for the second time in her career.

The Naperville, Illinois product made her first appearance at the NCAA Championships this year, qualifying for the indoor pole vault with a career-best 3.75-meter clearance. She also recorded All-OAC honors with second- and third-place marks at the indoor and outdoor conference championships.

Stevens owns 14 career OAC Championship points. She is a two-time Academic All-OAC and All-OAC selection, a one-time USTFCCCA All-Great Lakes Region honoree, and a one-time OAC Field Athlete of the Week.

Vestal, a sophomore Forensic Biology major, is honored for the second time after garnering similar honors during the 2018 cross country season.

In 2019, the distance specialist recorded a fifth-place finish in the outdoor 3,000 steeplechase and a seventh-place mark in the indoor 1,000. She added career-best efforts in the 1,000 (3:08.85), 1,500 (4:58.76), 3,000 (11:17.18), and the 3,000 steeplechase (11:34.04).

Through two seasons, Vestal has registered seven total OAC Championship points in her career.

Wright is a sophomore biology major. She adds the honor to her Academic All-OAC and USTFCCCA All-Academic Individual selections from the 2018 cross country season.

The second-year distance runner scored her first three OAC Championship points this season with a sixth-place finish in the 3k steeplechase at the OAC Outdoor Championships.

Ohio Northern posted a 24-8 overall record during the indoor campaign and a 59-12 record in the outdoor season. The Polar Bears capped their regular seasons with fifth-place finishes at both the OAC indoor and outdoor championships.