Ohio coach Clay Calkins stood on the track last week in hot, humid weather when he said he hoped for a good meet at the Jesse Owens Track Classic in Columbus.
“This time of the year is critical,” he said. “We’re three weeks away from the Mid-American Conference championships. We’re hoping for big things to happen.”
Four days and a downfall in temperature later, Ohio delivered the results Calkins hoped for, as five Bobcats ran to personal bests without the pressures of the team scoring system.
Junior Melissa Thompson was the first Bobcat to improve her time on Friday, as she finished second in the 1,500-meters with a time of 4:30.72 minutes. Her time bettered her previous best by 1.43 seconds.
After winning the 10,000-meters at the All-Ohio Championships, junior Juli Accurso took on the 5,000-meter to place second in a time of 16:36.22 minutes in the faster heat.
Senior Ashley Waddington, in the meantime, wasn’t sure about how her 3,000-meter steeplechase would go for her when lining up at the starting line.
“This is my first time running the steeplechase in two consecutive weekends,” Waddington said.
Just 10:48.65 later, the senior crossed the finish line with a new personal best, topping her old mark by four seconds.
The Bobcats carried their momentum into Saturday, as senior Danielle Winningham bounced back from last weekend’s disappointing tenth place finish in the 800-meters to place third in a personal best of 2:12.11, which brought her closer to her declared goal.
“I want to run a 2:09 by the end of the year,” she said.
The field events rounded up Ohio’s results this weekend, as senior duo Alexis Geiger and Lauren McCullough placed fifth and fourth in the long jump and javelin throw, respectively.
The high jumpers and pole-vaulters had a hard time adjusting to the cold and windy weather, as no Bobcat recorded a valid height.
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