Ohio Wesleyan University | Battling Bishop Athletics

2009 Season Preview

[ Ryan Ellis ] Last year, the Ohio Wesleyan men's track & field team swept the North Coast Athletic Conference indoor and outdoor championships, a feat the Battling Bishops had not accomplished since 2001, and won the All-Ohio Division III outdoor championship.

This season, head coach Kris Boey looks for his Battling Bishop squad to not only defend their NCAC titles, but to establish a presence on the national stage.

"We had about as good a year (in 2008) as anyone could ask for, but we don't want to be content with that," Boey said. "The team is one year older, one year more improved, and while our No. 1 goal is to win the conference, this is a team that can do some things on the national level as well."

Seniors 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 outdoor championship meet, winning the 200- and 400-meter dashes and running on the conference champion 400- and 1600-meter relay teams. Ellis also was the 2007 indoor NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year.

Osborn also ran on both conference champion relay teams in 2008. He was the NCAC Sprinter/Hurdler of the Year at the 2007 NCAC outdoor meet.

Sophomores Jordon Exeter (Toronto, Ontario/Mercersburg (Pa.) Academy) and Sean Patrick (Delaware/Hayes) rounded out the Bishop 400-meter relay team. Patrick won the NCAC title in the 100-meter dash and finished second in the 200-meter dash last year, while Exeter also won all-league honors in both events.

[ Preston Osborn ] In the longer sprints, senior Preston Osborn (Edgerton) finished off the 1600-meter relay team last year, also winning All-NCAC honors in the 400-meter dash both indoors and outdoors and competing in the NCAA Division III championship meet in the 400-meter hurdles.

Senior Andrew Bloom (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne) added All-NCAC honors in the 55-meter hurdles to the conference decathlon championship last year, junior Steve Brown (Redford Township, Mich./Redford) was an all-league honoree in the 110-meter hurdles, junior Bryce Mathias (Centerburg), placed in the 200- and 400-meter dashes and the 400-meter hurdles last year, and sophomore Kody Law (Reynoldsburg) was a member of the Bishops' school-record-setting distance medley relay team before missing the outdoor season with an injury.

Newcomers who will look to contribute include freshman David Franklin (Reynoldsburg) in the hurdles, freshman Matt Haines (Downingtown, Pa./Delaware County Christian) in the long sprints, and sophomore Nate Goodall (Ostrander/Bishop Watterson) and freshman A.J. Sayed (Punta Gorda, Fla./Charlotte) in the sprints and jumps.

[ David Burke ] In the jumps, junior David Burke (Hudson) swept NCAC Field Event Performer of the Year honors last year, winning the triple jump and the high jump and adding a fifth in the long jump at the indoor meet and winning the long jump, taking all-conference honors with a third in the triple jump, and adding a fifth in the high jump at the outdoor championship.

Senior Jon Smith (Clyde/Bellevue) won the 2007 outdoor pole vault title, while Exeter took all-conference honors in the long jump, and Bloom will contribute in the jumps as well. Sophomore Parone Mulrain (Chicago, Ill./Latin School) gives the Bishops additional depth, and newcomers Goodall and junior Scott Hassee (Norwalk) also seek to contribute.

In the middle distances, junior Matthew MacKenzie (Franklin, Mass.) was an all-conference honoree in the 800-meter run, sophomore Kyle Herman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) was part of the Bishops' school-record-setting distance medley relay team, and senior Alex Havran (Woodinville, Wash./Overlake) will contribute in the 800-meter run. Boey also looks to freshmen Sharif Kronemer (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) and Kyle Lemke (Loudonville) to make an impact.

Junior Christian Schlabach (Wooster/Triway) placed in the mile run last year, with seniors Gary Brenneman (Fredericktown) and Garret Andre-Johnson (Walnut Creek, Calif./Berkeley) also contributing, along with freshmen John Batchelder (Powell/Worthington Kilbourne) and Kale Booher (Covington/Newton).

The Bishop distance corps will be led by senior Clay Davis (Dublin/Coffman), an all-conference selection in the 10,000-meter run; and senior David Stefanik (Wooster), an all-conference honoree in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Freshman Evan Hitchcock (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) will look to parlay a fine 2008 cross country season into regular contributions on the track.

[ Alex Havran ] In the throws, Havran won the conference championship in the javelin and placed in the decathlon last year. Senior Brandon Hunter (Twinsburg) and senior Bobby Polley (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) placed in the javelin last year, with Bloom helping out here as well, along with freshman Nick Cicchetti (Ephrata, Pa./Lancaster Catholic)

The weight events return junior Kyle Faris (Olmsted Falls), who placed in the discus, the hammer and the shot put at last year's NCAC meet. Freshmen Jon Rux (North Oaks, Minn./Mounds View) and Chris Ziska (Berea) also look to contribute.

Ohio Wesleyan opens the indoor season on Dec. 6 at Capital. The indoor schedule gets into full swing on January 17 at the Capital Invitational, the NCAC championship meet will be held March 6-7 at Denison and the NCAA Division III championship will be held March 13-14 at Rose-Hulman. The outdoor season opens on March 21 at the Rose-Hulman Early Bird, and features the annual Marv Frye Invitational on April 4, the annual All-Ohio Division III championship meet on April 11 and the NCAC championship meet on May 1-2 before finishing with the NCAA Division III championship May 21-23 at Marietta.

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