Riverview grad Mason Ochs earns medal in men's 3,000-meter steeplechase at PSAC meet

Lock Haven cross country/track and field coach Aaron Russell could tell Mason Ochs just wasn’t himself. There are sophomore slumps, and then there is what Russell perceived in the Riverview grad.

“I just felt like he was lost in every event.” Russell said. “He was just kind of floundering, trying to figure out what he liked and what he wanted to do.”

Ochs, too, admitted he wasn’t performing up to what he expected in his second year of college. He was hoping to qualify for the 2023 PSAC outdoor track and field championships in the 5K, his preferred event, but the qualifying time of 15 minutes, 20 seconds, he said, was “really fast” and a little out of his reach.

So with Lock Haven’s own “last chance meet” coming up, Ochs approached Russell with a proposition: let him run the 3,000-meter steeplechase.

“I was just like, ‘I don’t know, coach. Throw me in the steeplechase. I’ll give it a shot just for fun,’ ” Ochs said.

For those not in the know, the steeplechase is one of track and field’s more unusual events. It combines distance running and hurdling with a water barrier thrown in for good measure.

With only a couple of days to practice before the meet, Ochs enlisted the help of teammate Tanner Walter, who had much more experience in the event, to get some tips on the hurdling and water aspects of the steeplechase.

Ochs proved to be a quick study. Not only did he win the event over four more experienced competitors, he beat the PSAC qualifying standard by, he said, nearly 10 seconds.

What Russell initially thought was Ochs’ idea of a joke turned out to be a path to PSACs.

“When he threw that (wanting to run the steeplechase) at me … we hadn’t tried it with him because he’s not the tallest guy,” Russell said. “But, I mean, why not?

“It was obvious the first lap into it he didn’t know what he was doing, but he was doing it pretty well and was comfortable with it. And when he finished it, it was the first time he had a smile on his face almost all year.”

Added Ochs: “That was nice to find out I could actually do this.”

The PSAC meet presented a whole other challenge.

In the Lock Haven finale, Ochs, who finished well ahead of the other competitors, was, essentially, running by himself.

The event would be much more crowded — 18 athletes — and physical at the conference meet.

Russell was eager to see how Ochs would respond running the steeplechase in a crowd. But Ochs was up to the challenge, placing eighth to earn a spot on the medal stand and a point for the Bald Eagles.

In only his second competitive steeplechase, he shaved 9 seconds off his inaugural time, and the point he earned helped the Lock Haven men improve their team finish from eighth in 2022 to fifth this spring.

“When I got to PSACs, I just told myself I wasn’t going to go out hard,” Ochs said. “I knew everyone was going to try to get out. I was just trying to have my own race … and see if anyone comes back to me.

“Luckily enough, they did, and I was able to push for the finish and get that podium spot, which was really cool. I didn’t think I’d ever do that in college, so it was a nice feeling.”

There also were no hard feelings among Ochs’ teammates who had been training in the event much longer. Walter placed fourth at PSACs, whereas Ochs outpaced teammates Evan Klinger and Cade McLaughlin for a spot on the podium.

Ochs said the other steeplechasers were very supportive of his efforts.

“Nobody had any ill will against me when I said I wanted to try it,” Ochs said. “It could have looked like I was just doing it to get in (PSACs), but I didn’t think I was going to get in, to be honest.

“Tanner Walter … helped me out a ton. Kohen Stover, Colby Petrizzo, Cade McLaughlin and Evan Klinger, they all helped me in workouts and pushed me and figured out what pace I needed and how to maneuver around people at the hurdles and jumping through the water.”

Russell said he could sense the performance stoked Ochs’ fire for the event and plans to have him practice it more for next season. Moreover, the coach said he believes the conference medal can help get Ochs’ entire running career back on track.

“I think as the races got longer in college, he had trouble really focusing that long,” Russell said. “The steeplechase allows him to break it up into 100-meter segments, so he can just refocus and refocus and refocus. And I think that really helps him.

“I think this confidence will help him over into cross country, and that’s one of the things that was missing was his confidence.”

Ochs already sounds like a more confident runner. During the 2022 cross country season, he said, he matched his personal best from his freshman season by running 26 minutes, 15 seconds during Lock Haven’s regular-season finale.

He said he was happy to achieve that but believes he can do better. He said he thinks he has a sub-26-minute run in him and could approach 25:30.

After two days away from running at the conclusion of track season, he already was itching to hit the road again.

“I’m definitely excited to see what we can do next season for cross country and track,” he said. “I think we’re all fired up. I know I am. We have our time off right now, and I’m already antsy to run.”