Men’s team
The Ohio Northern men's track and field program was tabbed for a fourth-place finish in the Ohio Athletic Conference during the 2019 outdoor season in the annual OAC Coaches Preseason Poll, the league announced Friday morning.
The Polar Bears ended fourth after receiving 57 total points from the league's 10 head coaches.
Reigning OAC Champion Mount Union stood atop the poll with 79 points and seven first-place votes. Otterbein claimed second with 74 points and two first-place votes, and John Carroll rounded out the top-three programs with 66 points and the final first-place vote.
Last season, the men's track and field program posted a 36-16 outdoor record and ended third at the 2018 OAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships with 95 points. Mount Union won the title with 212 points while John Carroll ended second with 162 points.
During the 2019 indoor campaign, ONU registered a 22-10 overall record and took fourth at the 2019 OAC Indoor Track & Field Championships inside the ONU Sports Center in February.
Women’s team
The Ohio Northern women's track and field program has been picked to finish fifth in the Ohio Athletic Conference during the 2019 outdoor campaign in the annual OAC Coaches Preseason Poll, the league office announced Friday morning.
The Polar Bears wound up fifth in this season's poll with 52 points from the league's 10 head coaches.
Otterbein, who claimed the 2019 OAC Indoor Track and Field Championship title, topped the poll with 80 points and seven first-place votes. Mount Union garnered the remaining three first-place votes and tallied 76 points to end second. John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace were projected to finish third and fourth with 64 and 55 points, respectively.
Last season, Ohio Northern posted an impressive 48-7 overall record and claimed the 2018 OAC Outdoor Track & Field Championship crown with 166 team points.
ONU is coming off a 24-8 record in the 2019 indoor season. The team also posted a fifth-place effort with 86 points at the OAC Indoor Track & Field Championships, held inside the ONU Sports Center Fieldhouse in February.
