The number of Bobcats competing at the Alex Wilson Invitational didn’t matter, as it took only four runners to break two school records.
Senior Annie Beecham paced the Bobcats with a third-place finish in the 5,000-meter run, breaking the school record with a time of 16 minutes, 22.51 seconds. Freshman Emily Pifer also set a career best in the event with a time of 17:39.50.
The other two athletes who made the trip were freshmen Melissa Thompson and Juli Accurso, and both broke the school record in the mile run. Thompson finished 16th with a time 4:50.90 and Accurso finished right behind at 21st with a time of 4:52.97.
“All in all it was a great meet, with two school records broken and everyone breaking their personal bests you can’t ask for more as a coach,” coach Clay Calkins said. “It was extraordinary to see the school record in the mile that had been standing since 1999 be broken twice in one meet by such young athletes.”
Beecham fell just shy of qualifying for nationals but is ranked 34th in the country in the 5,000-meter run and now holds the school record by more than eight seconds.
“We are definitely going in the right direction as we go on,” Calkins said.
With the conclusion of the indoor season, Ohio will shift its focus to the outdoors, where the Bobcats will look to improve from a 10th-place finish in the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships.
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