The Bobcats will travel south again this weekend and split the Carolinas as 13 athletes journey to Rock Hill, S.C. for the ASICS-Winthrop Invitational and eight head to Raleigh, N.C., for the Raleigh Relays.
Throws coach Nick Pero will take a handful of the distance runners and a few throwers to the Raleigh Relays, while head coach Clay Calkins will travel with the sprinters and jumpers, along with two other distance runners to North Carolina.
Pero compared the competition level of the ASICS-Winthrop Invitational to Ohio’s previous meet, the Shamrock Invitational in Myrtle Beach. As for the other meet, Pero and Calkins both agreed that the Raleigh Relays is considered one of the more elite and highly competitive meets this weekend.
“The main reason we’re going (to the Raleigh Relays) is more for the distance runners because we want to get them in some really hot races to hopefully qualify them for the outdoor NCAA Regional track meet,” Pero said.
The Bobcats are one of 22 schools that have individuals competing at the ASICS-Winthrop Invitational, whereas a total of 57 men’s teams and 61 women’s teams will compete at the Raleigh Relays, totaling some 2,000 participants and some 3,000 event places.
Last year, Ohio competed in the ASICS-Winthrop Invitational, but this weekend marks the first time the team is traveling to the Raleigh Relays.
Overall, the team is looking for better marks compared to last year. Calkins said he predicts to see the biggest improvements in the high jump and hurdles, while Pero forecasts better marks in the shot put and hammer throws.
“We want to be more consistent in our field events and be more consistent in our attempts throughout the meet,” Pero said. “We had some good marks (at the Shamrock Invitational) but not all of them were all that good. I think we’ve had a good week of practice leading up to this weekend, so I am expecting to see some good improvements.”
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