The Daily Standard
Story Archive
Marion Local's Alea Pohlman, seated center, will attend Ohio Northern University and run track and field for the Polar Bears.
MARIA STEIN - Alea Pohlman is already familiar with some of the facilities at Ohio Northern University.
That familiarity played a big part in the Marion Local senior signing with the Polar Bears to take part in the track and field program on Wednesday evening.
"A lot of my coaches went to Ohio Northern. The coaches allow us to run during the indoor season. That gave us a lot of opportunities to run at Ohio Northern," said Pohlman, who is deciding between physical therapy and sports management as a major. "The last three years I've run a lot of indoor meets at Ohio Northern. I just really loved everything they have. They have a really great program."
The smaller size of the school in Ada also appealed to Pohlman.
"Their class sizes are smaller. I knew I couldn't go to a huge college with 200 students to a class," said Pohlman. "I needed that one-on-one learning and they told me I would be able to get that there."
The Polar Bears are wrapping up their indoor season after finishing second at the Ohio Athletic Conference indoor championships. Last spring, the ONU women won the OAC outdoor title.
Pohlman is a sprint specialist for the Flyers. Last year at the Midwest Athletic Conference meet, Pohlman reached the podium four times, taking fourth-place finishes in the 100- and 200-meter dashes and 4x100 relay and sixth in the 4x200 relay.
Of the virtues that she will take with her after graduating from Marion, Pohlman noted staying positive.
"One thing they push is always being positive, having a good attitude and doing what you know you can do," said Pohlman.
