Season Preview: Women’s Indoor Track and Field embracing the pressure ahead of 2019-20 season
By Bud Denega
ADA — Ohio Northern women's indoor track and field head coach Jason Maus believes his team has earned something ahead of the 2019-20 season.
"Pressure is a privilege," Maus said.
It's a phrase Maus has heard for years, and this season he believes it applies to the Polar Bears. But rather than using that phrase word for word, Maus is making a slight adjustment.
"Rather than talking about pressure and expectations, we are going to instill confidence," Maus said. "We are going to focus on the process and the steps to get there rather than the outcome. We'll focus on the process and the steps we need to take to be successful, and then we'll let the clock or tape measure tell us. I think that's the approach we'll take."
The outcome last season for ONU was a fifth-place finish at the Ohio Athletic Conference Championships. And plenty of pieces from that team return to the fray in 2019-20.
The Polar Bears will be headlined by their field events, especially pole vault. The senior duo of Maggie Krause (Chagrin Falls/Kenston), an All-American, and Allison Stevens (Naperville, Ill./Central) come back after taking one-two at the OAC Championships as juniors and qualifying to the NCAA Championships.
Junior Stella DeWitt (Weston/Cardinal Stritch) returns to the long jump where she took third at the conference meet a season ago. On the track, senior Taylor Lavey (New Baltimore, Mich./Findlay) comes back after crossing third at OACs in the 60-meter dash.
Northern also did some good work in the conference meet relay events.
Senior Madeleine Routhier (West Unity/Hilltop) and junior Chyanne Retcher ran legs of the distance medley, which placed fourth. The youthful 800-meter relay team — partially comprised of sophomores Emily Norden (Carey) and Kayla Silva (Westerville/South) and senior Sydney McCluer (Columbus Grove) — rounded out the returning top-five finishers at conference, after they placed fifth at OACs.
"The women's team has the pieces and parts to be competitive," Maus said. "It's a women's group that you don't have to spend as much time with the basics. They know what to expect. They know what's coming at them. It's more fine-tuning and polishing with this women's team that has experience."
The 2019-20 season gets underway Saturday at the Findlay Invitational. The Polar Bears' first home meet will be the Larry Cole Friday Night Invite Jan. 24.
Northern will enjoy two other home meets — the Joe Banks Invitational Feb. 1 and the Polar Bear Final Qualifier March 6 and 7. The OAC Championships will take place in Marietta Feb. 28 and 29, while the NCAA Indoor Championships are in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, March 13 and 14.