Indoor track and field begins season this weekend

The Otterbein University indoor track and field teams kick off their seasons this weekend at both the Findlay Oiler Opener and the Wittenberg Tiger Opener. The teams will spend the next few months preparing for the OAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, which will take place Feb. 27-28 at Heidelberg University.

Last season at the OAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, the men's team placed fifth and the women's team placed eighth.

The men's team returns a pair of OAC Champions in Richmond Honkpo and Joe Hill. Last season, Honkpo was the conference champion in the triple jump and added a third place finish in the long jump. Hill took the pole vault crown for the Cardinals.

Junior Cam Smart returns after placing second in the 60m dash last season and third in the 60m hurdles. Another scorer back for the Cardinals is junior Christian Barker, who ran to a third place finish in the 200m dash. Sophomore Joab Bockstoce provides versatility for the Cardinals, earning points in both the high jump and as part of the sixth place 4x200m relay quartet.

The distance runners will continue to transition from their OAC Championship cross country season to the track. Seniors Payne Ratliff and Gavin Kelly are back for the Cardinals, coming off years where they scored at the OAC Championship meet. Ratliff was fifth in the 5000m run and Kelly followed with a fifth place showing in the 800m.

On the women's side, Otterbein returns plenty of young talent that scored at last season's OAC Championship meet. Three members of the fifth place distance medley relay team are back, in sophomores Maggie Moon, Brenna Lay and Mallory Bostick. Lay and Bostick also were part of the 4x200m relay team that ran to an eighth place finish last season. Natalie Nichols will also be a key part for the Cardinals, as she was a member of both the 4x200m and 4x400m relay squads a season ago.

Senior Rachel Bollo is back, scoring as a member of the 4x400m team in last year's OAC meet. Natalie Nichols looks to build off a solid freshman campaign last year as well.

In the field events, Otterbein is led by Anastasia Smith. As a freshman last year, she took sixth in the shot put at the OAC Championship meet and is ready to improve with one year already under her belt. Additionally, the Cardinals return Charlie Dolliver who jumped to a sixth place finish in the triple jump last season.

After this weekend's opener, the Cardinals will be idle for just over a month before heading to Capital for the Wilf Schnier Alumni Classic. With meets on the docket every weekend before the OAC Championship meet, the Cardinals will continue to prepare for the indoor conference finale. On Jan. 17, Otterbein will host the Otterbein Invite and will also host the All-Ohio Championships on Feb. 14.

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