Ohio hits the road this Friday and heads south to Huntington, West Virginia, for the Marshall Opener. It will be the Bobcats’ first indoor meet of the season and is set to begin at 7:30 pm.
The Opponents
In years past, the meet was just a dual meet, but this year, Northern Kentucky will join the Bobcats and Thundering Herd. Ohio and Marshall have begun the last five seasons against one another; Marshall won by a landslide in last year’s matchup, defeating the Bobcats 82-28.
Ohio and Northern Kentucky will compete against one another for the fourth consecutive season. Their latest matchup was the at the Buckeye Tune-Up in Columbus in February. The Norse enter the season fresh off a sixth-place finish at the Horizon League Track and Field Championships in May, where they scored 47 points.
Athletes to Watch
Ohio
Thelma Agyekum, Sprinter
The Ohio senior had first place finishes in the 100-meter dash at the 2018 Ohio Open and Ohio Cherry Blossom Invitational, respectively. A member of the 4x100-meter team, she captured first place at the Ohio Cherry Blossom Invitational and Marietta Open. Agyekum is flirting with the school’s 60-meter dash record as well after running posting a time of 7.99 at the Buckeye Tune-Up earlier this year, just .48 seconds behind former Bobcat Tisha Franklin’s mark set in 1999.
Marshall
Brandy Elysee, Sprinter
The Marshall sophomore won the 60-meter dash at last year’s Marshall Opener as well as broke a 300-meter dash school record with a time of 39.13 later in the race. In addition, she’s a member of the 4x400-meter and sprint medley teams who both broke school records a season ago.
Northern Kentucky
Jennah Flairty, Distance
Another senior, Flairty is a member of a distance medley team which placed third in the Horizon League Indoor Track and Field Championships last season. She also scored points in the same race by placing seventh in the mile run with a time of 5:08.86.
What’s Next
This is a peculiar part of the Bobcats’ indoor season schedule. Following the Marshall Opener, Ohio will not compete for an entire month, then will return to Huntington on January 12 for the Marshall Women’s Classic.
