WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein Track and Field program(s) will continue gearing up over the next few weeks before officially hitting the ground running in early January, commencing the 2023 indoor season at home in the Clements Center.
Just recently, the Cardinals launched the schedule with their lone/annual December outing over at the Oiler Opener hosted by Findlay. Most distance runners did not attend as they recover from cross country season, but many other competitors took part to continue getting loose.
FINDLAY RESULTS HERE
Otterbein soon launches another campaign under ninth-year taskmaster
Dara Ford, recently elevated to Director of Cross Country and Track and Field. She and the program are in the process of hiring a "head coach" for one or the other.
"You learn to be super flexible," Ford said when asked about developments within her sport and coaching industry over the last decade. "People come and go and aspects you have to oversee might change… or roles differentiate. Everyone in this profession (or college athletics as a whole) has dealt with adversity over the last few years with the pandemic and seeing how it's changed the outlooks of student-athletes, families, support staff, and so on."
The men's side looks to climb back near the top of the Ohio Athletic Conference after settling for fifth place at both OAC meets last year. The team qualified a trio of individuals to the NCAA Championships, with
Cwinn Febus taking third in the 110 hurdles.
Senior
Cal Yackin, a 2021 All-American (1500 meters) and 3x national qualifier overall, is back to spearhead a large flock of distance specialists once again. The cross country program comes off another trip to nationals in November as the likes of
Bill Daily,
John Nice,
Nathan Craft,
Jay Figgins,
Liam Walits and others from the rotating lineup strive to carry efforts onto the track.
Elsewhere,
Nick Agerter is a returning All-Region selection and reigning OAC indoor champ in the pole vault. He also hit the podium with third in the outdoor meet and cleared 15-feet even to conclude the spring.
Rising performers such as
Landon Burns,
Vinny Zeren and others hope to take the next step in their careers while the program receives a nice boost from Miami (Ohio) transfer
Khalil Jones. Expect to see the local product contribute in multiple events after battling back from an injury sustained last year.
"We have consistently had talented athletes in the program and want them competing for conference titles and national spots," mentioned Ford, who will coach mid-distance for the first time this season. "But we are also excited to continue bringing the team aspect back after CoVID obstacles…
"If you remember, we didn't even have spectators for half of indoor season last year… Now we can be more deliberate about the inclusive aspect that has been critical to our success in past years. Instead of working more in individual vacuums, I want us operating more as a full team again."
Junior
Emma Klosterman, a multi-time national qualifier in the high jump, returns as the biggest (most accomplished) name on the women's side after landing top-15 nationally both seasons. She broke the school record by clearing 5-7 at Baldwin Wallace and contributes in other events.
Sprinter
Lydia Baumgartner has a strong amount of racing experience while mid-distance specialist
Mackenzie Davis plans to return from an injury that kept her out this entire fall slate.
Amanda Radke (pentathlon) and
Peyton Carpenter (javelin) earned All-OAC medals last year while returners such as
Cassidy Shaver (mid-distance),
Ravyn Goodson (throws) and others are grinding for heightened success. Shaver took fifth place in four different events across the OAC Championships as a sophomore.
"We strive to figure out how good every individual can be," Ford continued. "We want them to PR and grow athletically, but also evolve as people. Track allows a larger scope of leadership and taking advantage of microcosms. You can have leader in different event groups. Every profession needs leaders no matter if you become an engineer, teacher, nurse or anything else. We want to graduate leaders from out program and that's ultimately more important than results on the track/field."
The women's side (also middle of the pack at OAC's last year) is optimistic about the potential of true freshman Peyton Proffit, a recent OHSAA state champion in the pole vault for Westfall High School. She and many other fresh faces (on both sides) will have opportunities to make an impact.
A pair of home meets begin the flip of the calendar with the Snow Globe (1/7) and Otterbein Invitational (1/14) on deck to start the new year.
"I want us to come back in January better than we are right now," Ford said in conclusion. "You can't hide in this sport if you don't do the work. There were some kids who took advantage of the recent meet at Findlay and we'll continue establishing that baseline of expectations. I'm excited to see them carry it over when we open (at home) in January.
I want us to come back in January better than we are right onw in December. Can't hide in this sport if you don't do the work. No teammates you can hide behind in that front. Work hard and building on that base that we've established all fall. Some took advantage of the recent meet at Findlay and we'll look to carry everything over when we open next month."
