The Bobcats took home six first-place finishes, along with many improved marks, in their final home meet of the season.
Friday’s Ohio Open came less than one week before the Mid-American Conference Championships and gave the Bobcats a chance to refresh and compete at home.
“All of our moms were down here to watch,” senior Hope McCarty said. “It’s nice to get that Athens environment, and it’s not a huge meet – it’s smaller and more intimate.”
McCarty was one of the six Bobcats to finish first. McCarty won the 800-meter run with a time of 2 minutes, 13.65 seconds. Junior Erin Gale and freshman Delaney Bolger followed McCarty and finished third and fourth, respectively.
Sophomore Melissa Thompson won the 1,500-meter race, and three of her teammates also finished in the top five. Senior Courtney Weiss crossed the finish line first in the 400-meter hurdles, while junior Angela Klimkowski won the 3,000-meter steeplechase and senior Abbie Selhorst won the 3,000 meters.
Junior Kiley Mathews and senior Brittany Tyree finished second and third in the 400 meters while junior Alexis Geiger just missed winning the 100 meters and took second.
The field competitors captured a handful of personal and team-best records. Ohio went one, two and three in the shot put with freshman Donyelle Brown taking first with a personal-best throw of 13.65 meters. Freshman Janiece Rose and junior Kristen Mason finished right behind Brown in second and third, respectively.
Brown also took second in both the hammer and discus throws with distances that were team bests for the season. Junior Alexa Macri placed third in both the hammer and discus throws with a personal best in the discus.
Freshman Chanda Cuckler leaped the best spring mark for the team this season and took second in the high jump. McCarty and Tyree took home more top-five finishes in the field events with McCarty earning second place in the javelin and Tyree placing third in the high jump.
“Across the board, there were good performances from everybody, and hopefully we can carry that momentum into the MAC Championships,” coach Clay Calkins said.
Brown and McCarty, agreed that despite improvements, they are looking forward to next weekend’s conference championships in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
“I am ready to do really well,” Brown said. “I feel like next weekend should be my best weekend of my freshman year.”
nb155607@ohiou.edu
