When mid-distance runner Danielle Winningham took to the starting block for the 4 x 100-meter relay, she found herself in an unusual event.
Seconds later, Winningham was given a false start and the relay team had to watch Marshall run the event by itself. The race was indicative of Ohio’s team challenge last weekend.
In a meet, in which only Marshall and West Virginia made an appearance, Ohio coach Clay Calkins tried out a different lineup, putting numerous athletes in unusual situations.
“This was obviously a low key meet and we’re getting prepared for the All-Ohio Championships next weekend,” Calkins said, adding that many top athletes sat out. “This time of the year you’re running your non-traditional races to see what your athletes can do.”
Despite the aggravated conditions, the Bobcats held off last-minute addition West Virginia by scoring 107 points, putting them in second place behind Marshall with 153 points. The Bobcats finished behind the Thundering Herd for the second consecutive year.
“Marshall ran a lot of their top people in the sprint events,” Calkins said.
Because the Bobcats had one top-three finish in sprint events — senior Kiley Mathews in the 400 — the rest of the team needed to score Ohio’s points. Once again the distance runners made up for the lack of scoring, by securing two of Ohio’s four wins.
Just seven days after competing in the 5000-meter race at the Stanford Invitational, junior Melissa Thompson was successful at the much shorter 1500-meter distance, winning the event in a time of 4:41.49 minutes.
“This was a different race and a different mindset,” she said. “It brought me back to having quick feet, which we weren’t focusing on during the 5000-meter (race) because that was more endurance.”
The junior was on the track 30 minutes later and finished third in an 800-meter race won by Winningham. The senior recovered from her false start to finish in a time of 2:13.24 minutes, which currently ranks her seventh in the Mid-American Conference.
“My goal is to run a 2:08 this season,” she said. “I didn’t really feel good today because our training this week was really hard since we’re in the middle of the season.”
The throwers contributed to the scoring, as sophomore Janiece Rose won the shot put in a new personal best of 13.81 meters, and senior Lauren McCullough finished second in the javelin throw with 38.29 meters.
Alexis Geiger, a senior, won her first long jump competition of the season as she landed in the sand with a season-best of 5.75 meters. The jump ranks her fifth in the MAC and should be good enough to qualify her for the conference championships in Akron in May.
“I’m starting to get back in the swing of things,” Geiger said. “I felt really good out there and my jumps were better.”
am794811@ohio.edu
