Posts Tagged ‘Mens’

Men's Basketball: OAC Playoff Potential

Take a look at the Ohio Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball standings.

Here, I’ll make it easier.

As you can see, the Pioneers sit in eighth.  Eighth is good though, from the standpoint that you get to make the OAC Tournament.  But the Pioneers need to be careful tonight against the Capital Crusaders.  The Crusaders, who are sixth in the standings, already lost to the Pioneers once this season.  However, Marietta is coming into tonight’s game riding a three-game losing streak against #2 John Caroll, #5 Baldwin Wallace, and #7 Mount Union.

With six conference games left, Marietta is one game ahead of #9 Otterbein.  Otterbein plays #1 Wilmington, and with a loss, could fall two games behind.  Further, if the Pioneers simply beat Capital, Otterbein and #10 Muskingum a second time, then the Cardinals would need to win all of their remaining games.  The Muskies would be eliminated from contention.

As far as the OAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament looks, it could go to either Wilmington or John Carroll, depending on how the conference tournament plays out.  One thing is for sure though:  Wilmington is ranked in the region (not nationally though), and could potentially receive an at-large bid to go dancing if they were to lose to John Carroll.  We’ll monitor the situation at the end of February to see what pans out.

The Pioneers Men’s Basketball team continues their quest for a second straight conference tournament bid tonight when they play Capital at 7:30 PM at Fenton Court in Ban Johnson Arena.  They will then face the #3 Heidelberg Student Princes at Fenton Court on Saturday, scheduled to start around 3 PM (The Women’s Basketball Team plays Saturday at Fenton Court at 1 PM).  For these dates and more, check out the Writing on the Mall Calendar.

Basketball Season in Full Swing

NCAA Division 3 Track And Field Championships Start Today

After a weekend loss for the Pioneers in the Division 3 Baseball Mideast Regional, Marietta College campus staff and volunteers turned to their own Division 3 Championship weekend for success in a different way.

Starting today, Marietta College hosts the NCAA Division 3 Men’s and Women’s Outdoor Track Championships at Don Drumm Stadium. The event runs through Saturday, the 23rd.

Nearly 700 student athletes, their athletic trainers, coaches, and families from around the nation have descended on Marietta, which is hosting its first major Division 3 Championship since hosting the D3 Baseball Championships from 1976 to 1987 (1976 was the first year that Division 3 Baseball existed).

There are several side events planned to go along with the Championships, including events at Don Drumm and on Front Street. Tonight (Thursday) from 4:30 to 9 PM, restaurants along Front Street will be offering discounts and deals for those wearing Track Championship credentials or wristbands. So fans that buy tickets can also enjoy the same discounts that the student-athletes and coaches get. No list was announced, but a list will be available at the information booths at both Don Drumm and Hermann Fine Arts Center.

On Friday night, a children’s olympics will be held at Don Drumm Stadium from 7 to 9:30 PM. Kids aged 6 to 13 can compete in various olympic events that have been altered to work a bit better for the young ones. The big kicker for the night is a fireworks show around 9:15 PM. The event is being organized by the Marietta College Track & Field Event Management class and is free for the Marietta community, student-athletes, volunteers, coaches, and all others to attend.

For Marietta, the focus is on its two athletes, Jayshon Irvin (Freshman, 100m dash), and Zach Gay (Junior, High Jump). Good luck gentlemen, hopefully you can bring back the hardware. Or I should say, carry it over to the display case in Dyson.