After countless hours spent on the road traveling and competing at meets, the Bobcats will finally get the chance to defend their home track with the first-ever Cherry Blossom Invitational on Saturday.
This is not only Ohio’s first home meet of the year, but is also the first meet on the track at Pruitt Field since it was remodeled this past fall.
“I am very excited to host our first event here,” coach Clay Calkins said. “I will be even more excited once they finish putting down the lines!”
Calkins is optimistic about the weather, hoping it will be more ideal than last week’s meet at Vanderbilt, which was 10 degrees colder than he predicted. The forecast is predicting no chance of rain and sunny skies, which the Bobcats hope will be to their advantage.
After falling less than a meter shy of the current program record for hammer throw, junior Donyelle Brown has another opportunity to enter the record books with a strong home performance.
Also looking to put forth a solid homecoming performance is sophomore Ashlee Bilhimer. She left day two of the Vanderbilt Black and Gold Invitational with her head held high after taking first place in the javelin throw last weekend.
The Bobcats also hope to have junior jumper Chanda Cuckler boot the team with points after missing last week’s events in Nashville.
Along with Cuckler, senior thrower Lauren McCullough will also attempt to toss her way to a solid performance in the javelin thrown after a third-place performance last weekend.
Also looking forward to do well in their home opener are freshmen sprinters MacKenzie Rankin and Tajah Smith. The duo finished seventh and 13th, respectively, last weekend.
Sophomore distance runners Krista Roehlig and Kayla Scott also hope to continue their solid performances after each finished in the top-15 runners in the 3,000-meter race last weekend.
Whether the skies are clear, or rain sticks around, Calkins is hopeful that as long as the track is complete, it will solidify the project and set the program forward.
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