Sophomore Olivia Ogg wins pole vault to lead Women’s Track and Field on first day of OAC Indoor Championships
By Wes Mayberry
ALLIANCE — Sophomore Olivia Ogg (Hebron/Lakewood) won the Ohio Athletic Conference title in the pole vault to lead the Ohio Northern women's indoor track and field team on the first day of the 2022 OAC Championships meet on Friday at Peterson Field House.
Ogg cleared 3.47 meters to win the OAC pole vault championship after placing 11th in the event a season ago.
"What a tremendous performance from Olivia. She really stepped up," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "She missed her first two attempts of the day, so for her to bounce back from that was a great showing by her of refocusing and coming back out to compete."
The Polar Bears (19-5 overall) are in third place out of 10 teams with 35 points through seven events after the first day of competition. John Carroll leads with 82 points, and Mount Union is second with 78 points.
Senior Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) also earned All-OAC honors, placing third in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:36.37, surpassing her previous best by about 10 seconds.
"She ran a fantastic race," Maus said. "She has been on fire. To run a 17:36 indoors is awesome."
The top three finishers in each event earn All-OAC status, and the top eight score team points.
The Polar Bears had five other placers on Friday.
Sophomore Cienna Kuhn (Elida) placed fourth in the pole vault, clearing 3.37 meters.
Sophomore Natalie Garrett (Columbus/Bishop Watterson) finished sixth in the weight throw with a distance of 14.19 meters.
Freshman Olyvia Ashbrook (Johnstown/Northridge) also placed sixth, running a time of 1:22.43 in the 500 meters.
Sophomore J.J. Herron (Miamisburg) ran a time of 1:22.68 to place seventh in the 500 meters.
Freshman Jaclyn Boardman (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) finished eighth in the pole vault, clearing 3.07 meters.
ONU's distance medley team of senior Taylor Ellerbrock (Columbus Grove), junior Lexi Neff (Northfield/Walsh Jesuit) and sophomores Rosie Schroeder (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and Sydney Goodrich (Romeo, Mich.) also scored, placing fourth with a time of 13:11.77.
"We're in a good spot after the first day," Maus said. "We competed hard and had some really good performances today. We have really good momentum. We just have to continue to bring it tomorrow."
The final day of the championships gets underway on Saturday with field events beginning at 10 a.m. and running events starting at 2:30 p.m.
