North Clarion Grad Obenrader Named Penn State-Behrend Male Athlete of the Year

ERIE, Pa. – North Clarion graduate Mitch Obenrader was recently named the Penn State-Behrend Male Athlete of the Year.

(Cover photo: Mitch Obenrader (left), the Penn State-Behrend Male Athlete of the Year, with Female Athlete of the Year Paige Allen (right) and men’s and women’s track and field coach Greg Cooper (center). Submitted photo)

Mitch Obenrader Behrend Male Athlete of the Year, Paige Allen Behrend Female athlete of the Year, Luke Patten Behrend Male Scholar athlete of the Year, Seun Babalola Behrend’s Martin Luther King Jr. Student Service and another award for a student organization he leads

Obenrader, a senior, is in the midst of an outstanding season for the Lions.

At the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships, he placed third in the shot put with a throw of 17.49 meters (57-feet, 4 3/4-inches) setting the school record and earning All-American honors for the fifth time in his career.

A few weeks later, he earned the Colonial State Athletic Conference (CSAC) Field Athlete of the Week honor thanks to three top-five finishes during the week including in the shot put (first place), discus (fourth place) and hammer (fourth place) with conference-leading throws.

The son of Rick and Terri Obenrader, Mitch was an All-American in 2016 finishing fifth at the NCAA Championships in the shot put while earning Field MVP honors at the CSAC Champions where he was first-team in the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin. He was also an NCAA D-III All-Region performer and took third at the NCAA indoors in the shot put.

In 2015, Obenrader was the national runner-up in the javelin while setting the school record at the time in the indoor and output shot put.

As a freshman in 2014, Obenrader was the NCAA D-III national champion in the javelin and set the school record in the both the outdoor shot put and javelin.

Obenrader is an Animal Science major.