By Wes Mayberry

| 2023 OAC Outdoor Track & Field Poll (.pdf) |

ADA — The Ohio Northern women's outdoor track and field team was picked to finish third in the Ohio Athletic Conference 2023 preseason coaches' poll that was released on Thursday.

The Polar Bears received 64 points in the poll, placing them behind Mount Union and John Carroll.

Mount Union received 81 points and nine first-place votes, and John Carroll received 73 points and the remaining first-place vote.

Baldwin Wallace and Otterbein rounded out the top five with 55 and 42 points, respectively.

The Polar Bears are coming off their 2023 indoor season that saw them post a record of 24-2 with a third-place finish at the OAC Championships.

The team returns seniors Anna Schatzle (Brookville, Ind./Franklin County) and Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls), who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the pole vault and 10,000 meters, respectively, last season.

Schatzle is the reigning OAC champion in the outdoor pole vault, and Pitcovich was All-OAC in the 10,000 meters and 5,000 meters in 2022.

Other returning All-OAC honorees from the 2022 outdoor season include junior Olivia Ogg (Hebron/Lakewood) in the pole vault, senior Kenzie Detmer (Liberty Center) in the triple jump and sophomore Olyvia Ashbrook (Johnstown/Northridge) in the 400-meter hurdles.

The Polar Bears open their 2023 outdoor season on April 8 at the Manchester (Ind.) Invitational.

Coaches Poll