ADA, Ohio -- Mount Union's men's track and field team, ranked No. 4 in the nation, had a pair of all-conference performances and a number of high qualifying marks after day one of the 2019 Ohio Athletic Conference Championships Friday at Ohio Northern University in Ada.
Mount Union grabbed 23 points in the five events contested on day one which leaves them 12 points behind third place Otterbein. John Carroll has 42 points in first and Ohio Northern is in second place with 39 points.
The two all-conference performances (top three finishes) came from a second place finish in the distance medley relay from sophomore Jonathon Wahlie (Lima / Shawnee), junior Mitchell Milem (Columbus / St. Charles Prep) along freshmen Hunter Probert (Gnadenhutten / Indian Valley) and Alex Bryan (Geneva) and a third place finish in the long jump from freshman Jacob Shedd (Murrysville, Pa. / Franklin Regional).
In the preliminaries for running events, the Purple Raiders had a number of high qualifying marks headed up by the 500 meters where Mount Union has the top four times led by senior Clark Etzler (Elida).
Junior James Roth (Massillon / Perry) is second and leads three Raiders that made the finals in the 400 meters.
Roth along with fellow junior AJ Digby (Tontogany / Otsego) also both made the finals in the 200 meters.
Junior Connor Troyer (Sugarcreek / Garaway) was the top qualifier in the 60 meter hurdles with defending conference champion in junior Mason Plant (Shreve / Triway) also making the final.
Senior Louis Berry (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Shady Side Academy) was just .04 off his conference record as he was the top qualifier and one of three Raiders that made the finals of the 60 meter dash.
The final day of the meet begins at 10 a.m. Saturday.
OAC Indoor Track Championships
ONU Sports Center - Ohio Northern University - Ada, Ohio
Team Scores
1. John Carroll 42, 2. Ohio Northern 39, 3. Otterbein 35, 4. Mount Union 23, 5. Baldwin Wallace 17, 6. Heidelberg 11, 7. Marietta 10, 8. Capital 7, 9. Muskingum 6, 10. Wilmington 5.
