Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

2008 Season Preview

[ Nathan Osborn ] The Ohio Wesleyan men's track and field team finished in second place at both the 2007 North Coast Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor championship meets, and with an impressive 22 lettermen returning from that squad, Ohio Wesleyan head coach Kris Boey feels that the Battling Bishops can take the next step and win their first conference title since 2002.

"Our men are probably the most up-and-coming program in the state of Ohio, with runner-up conference finishes in a very tough field," Boey said. "We feel with the experience and maturity of our returning team members and an exceptional group of newcomers that this could be a breakthrough year for the team."

Juniors Ryan Ellis (Columbus/Dublin Scioto) and Nathan Osborn (Edgerton) return in the short sprints.

Ellis was the NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year at last year's indoor championship meet, winning the 55- and 200-meter dashes and running on the conference champion 800-meter relay team.

Osborn was the NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year at the 2007 NCAC outdoor championship meet, winning the 200- and 400-meter dashes and helping a pair of relay teams to conference titles.

Also back is sophomore Dain Malaniak (Poland/Seminary), who placed in the 200- and 400-meter dashes last season and joined Nathan Osborn and junior Preston Osborn (Edgerton) on the 1600-meter relay team that qualified for the NCAA Division III championship meet.

[ Preston Osborn ] The Bishops' deep group of hurdlers includes Preston Osborn, who won the NCAC title and qualified for the NCAA Division III championship meet in the 400-meter hurdles and ran on both NCAC outdoor champion relay teams; junior Andrew Bloom (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne), who added All-NCAC honors in the 55- and 110-meter hurdles to the conference decathlon championship; and sophomore Bryce Mathias (Centerburg), who placed in the 400-meter hurdles last year.

Also returning are sophomore Steve Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford), who ran on the conference champion 400-meter relay team; and senior Sam Harold (San Pablo, Calif./Albany).

Newcomers who should make an impact in the sprints include freshman Jordon Exeter (Toronto, Ontario/Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy), who won the state 100-meter dash in high school; freshman Sean Patrick (Delaware/Hayes), an all-region honoree in high school; and freshman Kody Law (Reynoldsburg). Looking to contribute in the hurdles are freshman Jack Schemenauer (Luckey/Eastwood), an all-state competitor in high school; sophomore Brandon Cannon (Dublin/Scioto) and freshman Mike Fisher (Chagrin Falls/Kenston), with freshman Ethan Baron (Ambler, Pa./Germantown Friends) and freshman Jon Boll (Syracuse, N.Y./Jamesville-DeWitt) also in the mix.

[ Jon Smith ] In the jumps, the Bishops return both NCAC pole vault champions in senior Michael Tornifolio (Stow), who won the indoor title, and junior Jon Smith (Clyde/Bellevue), who won the outdoor crown. They will be joined by freshman Jon Voiles (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer).

Sophomore David Burke (Hudson) placed in the high jump, long jump and triple jump last year, taking All-NCAC honors in the high jump. Freshman Parone Mulrain (Chicago, Ill./Latin School) and Charley Lafe (Pittsburgh, Pa./Schenley) give the Bishops additional depth.

In the throws, junior Alex Havran (Woodinville, Wash./Overlake) was an All-NCAC honoree in both the javelin and the decathlon last year. Sophomore Bobby Polley (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) placed in the javelin last year, with Bloom helping out here as well.

The weight events return senior Joshua Steinke (Wapakoneta) and sophomore Kyle Faris (Olmsted Falls), both of whom placed in both the shot put and discus at last year's NCAC meet. Senior Troy Jeffrey (Centerburg) and sophomore Josh Sulser (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) also look to contribute.

In the middle distances, junior Garret Andre-Johnson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Berkeley) won all-conference honors in the 800-meter run, while sophomore Matthew MacKenzie (Franklin, Mass.) and sophomore Christian Schlabach (Wooster/Triway) both placed in the 800-meter run last year.

Junior Gary Brenneman (Fredericktown) earned All-NCAC honors in cross country last fall and will look to carry that over into the mile and 1500-meter runs. Senior Joe Berlyoung (Elyria/Avon) provides experienced depth, and Boey expects contributions from freshmen Kyle Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) and Jeff Driscoll (Shreve/Triway) as well.

The Bishop distance corps will be led by junior Clay Davis (Dublin/Coffman), who placed in the 3000- and 10,000-meter runs last year; along with junior David Stefanik (Wooster) and Havran, both of whom placed in the 3000-meter steeplechase in 2007. Senior Pete MacLeod (Hudson) also returns, as do junior Brandon Hunter (Twinsburg) and junior Scott Williams (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy). Newcomers who could contribute include freshman Cody Morrison (Caldwell) and John Thatcher (Centerburg).

Ohio Wesleyan opens the indoor season on Dec. 8 at Capital. The indoor schedule gets into full swing on January 19 at the Kenyon Invitational, the NCAC championship meet will be held Feb. 29-March 1 at Denison and the NCAA Division III championship will be held March 14-15 at Ohio Northern. The outdoor season opens on March 22 at the Muskingum Invitational, and features the annual Marv Frye Invitational on April 5, the annual All-Ohio Division III championship meet on April 12 and the NCAC championship meet on May 1-2 before finishing with the NCAA Division III championship May 22-24 at Wisconsin-Oshkosh..

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