Like a sculptor creating a work of art, Ashley Waddington and other athletes used the Ohio Women’s Team Challenge to carve seconds off old personal records Saturday.
Ohio finished third with 135 points, complete with many athletes setting new personal records fueling the weekend success.
Sophomore Waddington set a new personal record in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 18 minutes and 13 seconds. She trimmed 24 seconds off her previous personal record.
“To chisel off that much time in the 5K is just fantastic, and we’re happy that she has performed so well,” coach Clay Calkins said.
Sophomore Jaimie Cavinee attained a personal record with her jump of three meters in the pole vault. Junior Jamie Fisher and freshman Miranda
Richardson finished third and fourth, respectively.
In the shot put, freshman Emily Woods set a new personal best with a throw of 12.80 meters. It was the best mark in the outdoor season.
“If you’re hitting those kinds of marks … and you expect to improve as you taper through the season, hopefully we can just keep improving on those marks,” Calkins said. “There is potential for upside there as you progress.”
Several other Bobcats achieved first place finishes, as senior Kristi Sturges won the 100-meter high hurdles with a time of 14.69 seconds. Calkins said this was good to see because Sturges was coming off two bad weeks in hurdles.
Other than Sturges, Calkins said jumpers were a little off, but the team would work to improve after coming back from injuries to sophomore Alexis Geiger and senior Shareyna Spears.
In the 400-meter dash Ohio runners rounded out the top three, led by sophomore Danielle Winningham.
Overall, Calkins said he was happy with the team’s performance, but this week was preparation for next week’s All-Ohio Outdoor Championships.
“We have to be strategic. If you look at the results, you won’t see Annie Beecham, Kari Summers, Melissa Thompson, Juli Accurso, Emily Pifer and there is a reason for that,” Calkins said. “You’re giving up a little bit this week, so you can perform better for next week.”
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