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2013 OAC Indoor Track & Field Preseason Coaches' Polls
The Capital University women's indoor track & field team earned a first-place vote and was selected to finish fourth in the Ohio Athletic Conference by the league's coaches, the conference announced Thursday, Jan. 17.
The women's team totaled 36 points, one ahead of fifth-place Marietta, and was the only other program to garner a first-place vote. The men's team was picked to finish ninth, earning a total of eight points.
The Crusader women, who placed fifth at the OAC Indoor Championships in 2012, are led by a strong returning class of seven seniors, nine juniors and six sophomores. Senior Emma McCarron (Mansfield, Ohio), a two-time cross country NCAA qualifier, is the reigning OAC indoor champion in the 1-mile run. McCarron's 5,000-meter run at Tiffin on Dec. 1 is currently the fifth-best time in the nation.
Senior Emily Sheets (Gahanna, Ohio) won the high jump at the 2011 outdoor championships and also looks to be competitive in the javelin and discus.
The Capital men's team returns 25 student-athletes, including 12 juniors, and is led by senior Josh Woods (Marysville, Ohio), who is a three-time NCAA qualifier. Woods won the 200-meter dash at the 2010 OAC indoor championships. Sophomore Travon Bodrick (New Albany, Ohio) placed sixth in both the triple jump and long jump at last year's indoor championships and looks to be competitive in both events again.
Combined, the two teams broke or set 16 school records, including 13 indoor marks, in 2011-12. Through three events, a pair of men's records have already been eclipsed – junior Cory Smith (Bucyrus, Ohio) in the 60-meter hurdles and junior Andrew Appelt (Canal Winchester, Ohio) in the 60-meter dash.
Mount Union was selected as the favorite in both the men's and women's polls. The women received eight of the nine first place votes and tallied 64 points, while the men garnered the exact same numbers.
Ohio Northern is the defending OAC champion on the men's side, while Mount Union took home the title in the women's championship in 2012.
