Less than two weeks ago, the men's and women's cross country teams brought home second-place finishes from the Wilmington Fall Classic, the final race before the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Championships. Perhaps more important than the success they had is the fact that they will be running on the same course Saturday for the conference meet. Junior Chris Fyock, who turned in Otterbein's top time in the season finale, thinks that recently running there will help the team. "Running at Wilmington two weeks ago will definitely play into our advantage for this race." He, along with Andie Pautsch, the women's most consistent runner this season, agreed that with a good understanding of the course the teams will know when to make their moves and when to push themselves. Countless hours of hard work were put into this year for the next few races. First-year head coach John Lintz has implemented a conditioning program that should have the Cardinals taking off at the right time. "We wanted to be at our best for the most important race," he said. "We've almost used the meets as a third workout for the week." The men's team has finished fourth at this event the last three years, and placing in the top three has been a goal from day one. With Ohio Northern, Heidelberg and Mount Union all running well, it's safe to say that in order for Otterbein to accomplish their goal, they will have to beat out at least one of those teams. While Lintz admitted that on paper they might be behind those three schools, he added that they certainly have the potential to make things interesting. On the other side, the women's team has never won an OAC title, and the runners have their eyes on the possibility of making school history. "We definitely have the athletes," Lintz said. "If we run how we are capable of, we can make a run at winning it." The runners see it the same way. "If we can all come together on Saturday, I think we will surprise a lot of people," Pautsch said. "Our team has tremendous potential." Tuesday's updated regional rankings have the women's team ranked ninth as they head into the weekend. Both cross country squads travel back to Wilmington for the OAC championships. The women are set to start at 11 a.m. Saturday, with the men following at noon. Ohio Northern is the team to beat after strong seasons with the men's team ranked No. 31 nationally. The Polar Bears swept both championship titles in 2008.
Name: Chad Woodfork Year: senior Major: physical education Favorite quote: "Go hard or go home." Favorite vacation spot: Los Angeles or Miami Favorite class: history Favorite food: cereal Best dance music: hip hop and R&B; Perfect weather: 75 degrees and sunny
double take: Woodfork led the defense with two interceptions vs. Wilmington.
For seniors Marinda Roderick and Leah Yoder, this has been their best season playing volleyball for Otterbein. They finally feel as if everything is coming together. After difficult seasons in the past, Roderick and Yoder feel that the volleyball team has really turned around and will be even better in years to come. In 2007, Roderick and Yoder were starters as sophomores; it was also coach Monica McDonald's first year at Otterbein. During that year, the team struggled with only four wins. There were six seniors on the team, but the season did not end well. Roderick said, "It was a difficult season. We had a lot of seniors, and we should have won a lot more." She knows last year was a good rebuilding year, and they have improved their team leading up to this year. McDonald believes the two seniors have developed over the last three years, and their leadership first emerged as juniors. McDonald said, "I never questioned their dedication to the team." It has been a rewarding experience for McDonald, having Roderick and Yoder as leaders. Yoder said, "We've instilled a great work ethic. It's been fun this year...a lot of girls look up to us." Roderick knows she and Yoder have had an advantage being with McDonald from the start because they respect her and understand her expectations. McDonald said, "They have been really fun to coach." Roderick and Yoder were the only two from their class to stay with the team. They work well together and enjoy playing volleyball together. Yoder said about Roderick, "We are best friends on and off the court." They are looking forward to a great finish in their final year with Otterbein's volleyball team. Roderick said, "Leah and I are going out having a great season." They are excited for the OAC tournament this week. The team is coming into the tournament seeded fourth, and its first match is against Capital University. Coach McDonald knows the team needs to focus on a win against Capital. "We upset them on their senior night," so she expects a win. The team knows that Otterbein's fourth place is a great spot but realizes there will be tough matches ahead. McDonald believes Otterbein can win their matches and said, "The girls have proven that they can play with any team." If Otterbein goes on to win the OAC tournament, they will get a bid into the NCAA tournament. Regarding the tournament win and a potential NCAA bid, Yoder said, "I have all the confidence in the world." Roderick said, "We are really excited and really pumped." She is confident that it can win the OAC. The team hopes this will be its year to make it to the NCAA tournament. McDonald said, "Our kids believe, and that's half the battle."
After Otterbein's come-from-behind win over nationally-ranked Capital, the Otterbein-Mount Union game, which will be played Saturday in Alliance, was supposed to be one of monumental proportions: two top ten and undefeated Ohio Athletic Conference teams battling for the outright league title. However, plans changed slightly when Otterbein (7-1, 6-1 OAC) was upset by Marietta, 25-22, last Saturday. The Pioneers (3-5, 2-5 OAC) scored with 57 seconds left to pull off the upset. The Cardinals trailed 14-13 at half-time and after the first quarter, were led by sophomore quarterback Kyle Stoughton because the starter, Austin Schlosser, left with an injury. Schlosser, a sophomore, was filling in as quarterback for senior Jack Rafferty, who was injured in the second game of the season. The injury bug hit the Cardinals hard during the Halloween game. Along with Schlosser, other Cardinals who suffered injuries against the Pioneers were left tackle Kenny Collmar (knee), left guard Arnold Spikes (foot), center Sam Watson (knee) and receiver Dan Gendron (broken collarbone). So, maybe Saturday's matchup won't have the same allure as it did before, but it's still a huge game between two nationally-ranked teams. Otterbein dropped from No. 7 in the polls to No. 15, while Mount Union has sat strong at No. 1 all year. And no, if Otterbein wins, they won't be the outright league champion because at that point, both the Cardinals and Purple Raiders would have one loss, barring no other upsets in the final week of the season. However, many believe the runner-up in the OAC will practically be a lock for an at-large bid come playoff time due to the strength of the conference. Like last year, Otterbein tripped up only against Mount Union, finishing 9-1, and made the playoffs as an at-large bid behind automatic-bid Mount Union. Even though the Cards lost last Saturday, this has still been a special season for Otterbein, who clinched back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 1982. Otterbein capped off four straight winning seasons. In fact, only 40 of Otterbein's 119 seasons have been winning ones. Since Otterbein began playing football in 1890, it has not had an undefeated regular season, although it has had nine winless ones. And even though that goal is out the window for this year following the Pioneers' upset, the Cardinals still have a solid shot at turning the tables and playing spoiler on Mount Union. The conference-foe, defending national champion and Division III-juggernaut currently boasts a 30-game winning streak over the Cardinals. You had to have been wearing bellbottoms and platform shoes to experience the Cardinal's last victory over the Purple Raiders in 1977. The scenario will be much like last year, in which the Purple Raiders prevailed 49-20, where league title hopes will be on the line. Speaking of big wins and the OAC, did you know that Otterbein has three wins over former league member Ohio State? Okay, so maybe the last victory was in 1895 before college football was what it is today. But it actually did happen. Ohio State, who holds a 13-3-3 record over the Cardinals, was a member of the OAC from 1902-1912. However, the same year Otterbein beat Ohio State for the first time, 1891, the Cardinals suffered their only loss of the season to the Dayton YMCA. The Cardinals will try to dust off a loss to the Pioneers, who are in the cellar of the OAC, and knock off the Purple Raiders when the game kicks off at 1:30 p.m.
