The Bobcats crossed the finish line victorious in the 4x800-meter relay, setting a new school record along with 19 other top-ten finishes at the Hillsdale College “Gina” Relays in Michigan over the weekend.
The relay quartet of Brittany Tyree, Hope McCarty, Danielle Winningham and Erin Gale took first place with a time of eight minutes and 59.19 seconds, breaking the school record of nine minutes and 8.4 seconds set in 1984.
“Having achieved this record my senior year is something that I am never going to forget,” Tyree said. “I think I can speak for all of my teammates that once we saw that we had broke the record, we felt we did this as a team. Not one individual could have made us win it. It took four.”
Ohio took third in the 4x100-meter relay with Winningham, sophomore Kaylah Howard and juniors Alexis Geiger and Kiley Mathews. Winningham also took first in the 400-meter dash open while Mathews took third in the 400-meter dash championship.
Sophomore Emily Pifer finished second in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 34 minutes and 55.33 seconds, taking a new, personal best record by nearly two minutes. Courtney Weiss finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles.
“The Hillsdale meet was one of the last opportunities to really go for fast times before (Mid-American Conference) Championships,” coach Mitch Bentley said.
There are five Bobcats in the running for 2012 NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifier list. The top 48 athletes in their respective events qualify. Pifer has the best shot, currently in 34th place. The next closest Bobcats are Chanda Cuckler and Tyree, who occupy the 54th and 58th spots, respectively, in the heptathlon.
In the field events, sophomore Olivia Vitou placed second in the javelin throw open while freshman Janiece Rose took third in the shot put open. Cuckler took fifth in the high jump.
The Bobcats will host the Ohio Open at home on Friday before the Mid-American Conference Championships take place the following week.
QUICK STATS
Hillsdale College “Gina” Relays
Hillsdale, Mich.
— Broke school record in 4x800-meter relay
— 20 top-10 finishes
nb155607@ohiou.edu
