Ohio’s outdoor season got off to a rocky start after its mediocre performance at the Blizzard Buster meet in Oxford on Friday. Ohio didn’t hold its own against other squads, and it consistently ended up with middle of the pack finishes.
Despite this, the few highlights came during many of the field events, including shot put and discus. Autumn Mohan took home second place in shot put with a throw of 13.80 meters, and Millie Ryan earned 12th place with her throw of 11.58 meters. Rachel Simpson nabbed third place in discus with a 45.15-meter throw.
The Bobcats gave a standout performance in pole vault, with Michaela Frey and Kendall Kraft taking home second and third place respectively. Kassidy Betzing placed seventh in long jump out of 24 competitors with her jump of 5.28 meters. Jumping seems to be a specialty for the Bobcats, as Emily McKenzie earned a fourth place finish in the triple jump event.
But Ohio lost its spark on the track. Many runners presented solid times but were unable to stand out against the level of competition in Oxford. Olivia Brewer finished 21st in the 100-meter dash with a time of 13.11 seconds, which placed her higher than any other Bobcats who competed in that event. Brewer also finished in 32nd place in the 200-meter with a time of 27.28 seconds.
Emma Myers was Ohio’s star runner of the day after her second-place finish in the 800-meter race. Myers’ run clocked in at 2:19.12. Alyssa Christian was not far behind with a time of 2:20.58 and a respectable finish of fourth place. Christian also placed ninth out of 48 runners in the 1500-meter race. Bailey Roberts and Sarah Liederbacher placed seventh and eighth, respectively, in the 5000-meter race.
The Ohio men only competed in three events at the meet. Darby Pillow and Connor Wertman had times of 1:58.70 and 1:59.45 in the 800-meter race, earning them seventh and eighth place, respectively. Cooper Mullen finished the race with a time of 2:02.99 to earn 14th place. Wertman and Mullen also placed at 19th and 23rd, respectively, in the 1500-meter race. Michael Lane and Jack Myers were the two Ohio competitors in the 3000-meter race. Lane earned a time of 9:16.69 to finish in 16th place, while Myers came in at 22nd place with a time of 9:28.31.
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