WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College men's track & field team heads to the University of Mount Union for the 2023 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Outdoor Championships this week.
The Schedule: Field events are slated to begin at 11 a.m. on both Thursday, May 4, and Friday, May 5. Track events start at 3:10 p.m. on day one and 3 p.m. on day two.
The Competition: The Quakers will be competing agains the other nine teams in the OAC: Baldwin Wallace University, Capital University, Heidelberg University, John Carroll University, Marietta College, the University of Mount Union, Muskingum University, Ohio Northern University and Otterbein University.
The Coach: Ron Combs is in his 25th season as the head coach of Wilmington's men's and women's track and field teams. Combs has been named Coach of the Year, twice by the Heartland Athletic Conference, and once by the OAC. In 2002, he led the men's indoor team to a sixth-place finish at NCAA DIII Championships.
Who to Watch (Field Events): The Quakers are well-reprensented in the discus, shot put and hammer throw. In the discus, Brett Brooks (153' 11"), JJ Durr (146' 7") and Justin Shuga (137' 5") are seeded second, fourth and eight respectely whille Durr is the top seed in the hammer throw with a mark of 197' 11". Teammates Nathan Borgan, Andrew Pacifico and Nate Marcum are also seeded in the top eight. In the shot put, Mike Soltis (49' 7.25") is the top-seeded Quaker while Brooks, Shuga and Durr are also scheduled to throw in the event. In jumping events, Brady Vilvens is seeded No. 2 with a leap of 6' 8" in the high jump and will also compete in the triple jump.
Who to Watch (Track Events): In distance events, Simon Heys and Noah Tobin are seeded second (29:45.96) and fourth (30:56.85) in the event respectively while Tate Yoder and Gabe Moore are scheduled to run as well. Eric Reynolds will join Tobin, Yoder and Moore in the 4-x-800-meter run. Heys is also seeded No. 2 in the 5,000-meter run (14:11.05). Dane Klosterman is a top-eight seed in both the 110-meter (15.73 seconds) and 400-meter (56.62 seconds) hurdles.
Coverage: Live results of the championships are available at the link above.
Tickets: The OAC will be using Hometown Ticketing for the championships. Fans are to purchase digital tickets ahead of time at the link above.
Social Media: Wilmington athletics is represented on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics), Twitter (@DubCQuakers) and Instagram (@DubCQuakers). Follow all the happenings of Wilmington College on social media by using the hashtag "#WeAreDubC".
Up Next: Individuals will compete in last chance meets in the coming weeks with the hopes of bolstering individual marks to qualify for the NCAA Division III Championships, held in Rochester, New York, from May 25-27.
