Related Links:
Outdoor Track and Field Championships Web Page
Caitlin Prange Video Interview
OAC Women's Golf Championship Page
OAC Men's Golf Championship Page
Four Capital University teams are preparing to compete in their respective Ohio Athletic Conference championship events set to take place this weekend.
The men's and women's track and field teams look to peak at the OAC Outdoor Championships this Friday and Saturday at Mount Union. The Crusaders hope to improve on their performance from the conference indoor meet, when the women placed fourth and the men finished ninth.
The men's golf team heads to River Greens Golf Course in Coshocton starting Friday for the grueling three-day, four-round OAC Championship. The Crusaders finished third in the regular season standings and placed in the same spot at last year's championship tournament.
The women's golf team looks to improve on their program record-tying fourth-place finish at last year's championship this season at Mohawk Country Club in Tiffin. The two-round tournament takes place Saturday and Sunday.
The winner of each championship earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.
See below for a team-by-team breakdown of the spring's first championship week.
Women's Track and Field
Senior Emma McCarron leads Capital into the weekend after winning the 1-mile run and 3,000-meter run at the OAC Indoor Championships in February. The Mansfield, Ohio, native was named OAC Indoor Co-Distance runner of the year, sharing the honor with rival Alison Steinbrunner of Ohio Northern.
Heading into the weekend, McCarron holds the 10th-best mark in the nation in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, just nine seconds better than the No. 15 mark. The top 15 in the race qualify for the NCAAs. McCarron, who will also compete in the 5,000-meter run this weekend, believes she'll need to break 10:50 in the event, which would be an 11-second improvement on her school-record time of 11:01.87.
Senior Emily Sheets (Gahanna, Ohio) is in position to qualify nationally in the discus throw, currently ranked 15th with a toss of 137-04. Sheets, the program's record holder in the high jump, discus and javelin throw, looks to compete for titles in all three events.
Sprinters Aimee Hall (Amanda, Ohio) and Caitlin Prange (Columbus, Ohio) have been mainstays in the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes this season. Prange, a junior, was an All-OAC honoree by virtue of her top-three finishes in the 200 and 400 at the indoor championships. Hall, a senior, was All-OAC in the 200 in February.
Despite the team's lack of depth, McCarron and Sheets are confident in the team's versatility and ability to compete for championships in multiple individual events.
"We're hoping everyone pulls their weight," McCarron said. "It could be the last meet for a lot of our athletes."
McCarron, Sheets, Hall and four other seniors will be competing in their final conference meet. Sheets reflected on her four years in the program.
"I can't imagine not participating in track," Sheets said. "I've been able to compete and meet friends. The teamwork aspect of it will be important in my career in nursing … I can use the things I've learned."
Men's Track and Field
The Crusaders have struggled with depth and injuries this season, but feel they have a chance to compete for titles in several spots.
Senior Erik Barenwald, an OAC Field Athlete of the Week honoree, set a school record in the hammer throw earlier this season and is a threat to be a top finisher in that event, as well as the discus throw and the shot put. The Kenston, Ohio, native is confident the Crusaders can place 2-3 athletes in the top eight in each throwing event.
Senior Joshua Woods (Marysville, Ohio) was a 2012 NCAA Outdoor qualifier in the long jump. Woods is a three-time NCAA qualifier – twice in the long jump, once in the 200-meter dash – and was All-OAC at the indoor championships in both the 200-meter dash and the triple jump.
Senior Bret Nehrenz (Seville, Ohio) leads the distance runners after setting a school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase two weeks ago. Freshman Ed Wigton (Lucas, Ohio), a point-scorer in the 1-mile run in February, has a trio of top-four finishes in the 1,500-meter run.
"Our team has a lot of good single performances, but we're still building," Barenwald said. "This team is on its way to place higher in the future … I think we're better than our (team) scores indicate."
Men's Golf
According to Wes Holler (Marion, Ohio), Capital's lone senior, the team has its best chance in the last four years of competing for a title and a trip to Destin, Fla., for the NCAA Division III Championship.
To achieve their goal, the Crusaders will have to topple regular season champion Otterbein and move past runner-up John Carroll.
Juniors Clay Rice (Hilliard, Ohio) and Mark Williams (Carroll, Ohio) enter the weekend as the team's top two players. Rice has been a mainstay at the top of the Capital lineup, placing third at last season's OAC Championship. Williams, an OAC Golfer of the Week honoree after tying a school-record with a one-round score of 69, tied for sixth in 2012 and joined Rice on the All-OAC team.
Holler, sophomore Parker McComb (Gahanna, Ohio) and freshman Daniel Shafer (Hilliard, Ohio) round out the Crusaders' line-up. Holler said McComb has been one of the team's steadiest players, and said Shafer has been one of the biggest surprises of the season so far.
Rice leads the team in scoring average at 78.9 strokes per round while the team's four other starters average between 80.3 and 80.8. Holler said it will be critical to avoid the slow starts that have plagued them this season.
"We've gotten off to horrendously slow starts in tournaments, and now we need to get out fast and start strong," Holler said. "We are confident we can go low and we know we can close … we know what we need to do."
The tournament format is 27 holes Friday, 27 holes Saturday and 18 on Sunday. Holler, who played River Greens GC in high school, said it's not a difficult course to walk but admitted the grind of 72 holes of competition is grueling.
"I think good weather will release some stress," Holler said. "We know the importance of every shot and that every putt counts. We know we'll all be there to pick each other up.
"It's been a special year. These guys are like a second family and I'm not ready for it to end."
Women's Golf
With defending champion Baldwin Wallace out of the running for the championship due to an institution-imposed postseason ban, the Crusaders believe they could top their fourth-place finish from 2012, when they tied a program record for best result at the event.
Sophomore Aly McGinnis (Westerville, Ohio) and senior Erin Keeth (Greenwood Village, Colo.) enter the weekend as the team's top two players. McGinnis leads the team in scoring average at 88.9 strokes per round, while Keeth, an All-OAC selection last season, averages 89.2.
"I think Aly and I definitely push each other, but in an encouraging way, not in a competitive way," Keeth said. "We have very different games, but when she plays well I feel like I try to step up because we have mostly the same scores."
Junior Jessica DeBelly (Sylvania, Ohio) and senior Taylor Rindler (St. Henry, Ohio) round out Capital's top four. DeBelly is averaging a score of 93.2, while Rindler is at 98.5 heading into the weekend.
Freshman Kayla Fowler (Ashville, Ohio) rounds out the Crusaders' lineup.
Keeth said the team played a practice round at Mohawk Country Club last week and will have an advantage over other teams this weekend.
"Our team is focused," Keeth said. "We've been going out almost every day and really working on our short game with chipping and putting.
"It's an individual sport, but we're all close. We're behind each other and can help each other."
