Hayden Maus is flanked by his parents Lindsey and Jason Maus as he signs with Ohio Northern University. His brother Jackson is on the left. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BILL TIPPLE.
An elite distance runner has made his college choice.
Bellefontaine cross country and track standout Hayden Maus recently signed his letter of intent with Ohio Northern University.
He was joined by his family, teammates, and coaches during the signing ceremony in the Sloan Distance Learning Center at BHS.
Maus chose Ohio Northern because of its outstanding engineering program and his relationships with the cross-country and track teams. His dad is the men’s and women’s cross country and track coach at ONU.
Hayden has put together a banner career at BHS.
He is a 2x CBC champ in cross country, 3200m CBC champ in track, 5k school record holder with a time of 15:33, All-Ohio in cross country (15th place finish), All-Ohio in indoor track in the 3200m (4th at state), indoor 3200m national qualifier, and 4x First-Team All CBC in cross country.
Maus plans to study mechanical engineering.
Hayden has maintained a 4.1 grade point average at BHS.
His parents are Jason and Lindsey Maus.
Hayden reflected on his signing, “I chose Ohio Northern because it checked all the boxes. I wanted a smaller school with a great engineering program, and Ohio Northern ranks 12th in the nation for engineering. Visiting ONU felt like home, and I have a great relationship with the team and the coaching staff as well.
“There is a rare trait in certain runners that can be hard to find, and it's not being afraid to make it hurt. To reach the higher level, you need to learn to love the pain, and that's what really stood out to them.
“It feels very rewarding to be able to solidify my future with a great program and to display my hard work. College running has been a goal of mine since the beginning of my career. It's every athlete's dream to compete at the next level, and I'm very excited to see what I can do and how I can improve.
“My goals would be to break school records at ONU, compete in multiple national meets, and possibly leave college as a national champion.”
Longtime BHS cross country and track coach Ben Davis praised Maus, “Hayden had some talent in middle school, but really excelled in high school because of his exceptional work ethic.”
