Bobcats Conclude Day One of MAC Championships
Men sit fifth, women 11th after first day of track and field competition
Contact: T.J. Lasita
2/25/2005
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. ? One day is in the books at the 2005 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships with the Bobcat men sitting in fifth place and the Ohio women in 11th. Both squads will look to improve their standing Saturday when the MAC Championships begin the second and final day of competition.
Ohio?s men earned eight points on Friday, good enough for fifth place in the six-team race. The leader in the clubhouse is host-school Central Michigan, which holds a four-point edge over Kent State, 44-40.
The Bobcat men relied on a team effort to gain all eight points, using a relay team and a pair of top-eight finishers in the long jump to hop on the scoreboard.
The Ohio distance medley relay team of Jason Linton (Vincent), Steve Weber (Hillsboro), Brian King (Richfield, Minn.) and John Willis (Troy) placed fourth in the event with a time of 10:17.35, earning five points for Ohio. Akron took the top spot, recording a time of 9:59.59 and taking ten points.
A successful pair of long jumpers allowed Ohio to light up the scoreboard one more time in the men?s division. Freshman Bryan Miller (Falling Waters, W.Va.) nabbed seventh in the competition with a mark of 22-04.50 (6.82m), taking home two points for Ohio. Not far behind, fellow freshman Tyler Edwards (Lancaster) picked up another Bobcat point, taking eighth with a jump of 22-03.00 (6.78m) for Ohio.
Sophomore Dan Bailey (Uniontown) qualified for tomorrow?s 200 and 400-meter final races, placing ninth and fifth in the preliminary runs, respectively. Bailey will be joined by Willis in the 400-meter final.
On the women?s side, Ohio posted one point in Friday?s competition. They enter Saturday?s action in last place, six points behind Toledo. Kent State has paced the field thus far, recording 36 points to take a 1.5 point lead over Buffalo.
Freshman standout Carime Reinhart (Bascom), who shined in the 2004 MAC cross country championships, picked up Ohio?s lone point on day one of competition. Reinhart finished eighth in the women?s 5000-meter run, recording a time of 17:39.08.
Senior co-captain Jericka Duncan (Aurora) took third in her 60-meter hurdle preliminary race with a mark of 8.60, just more than two-tenths of a second off the pace. Duncan will compete in the final on Saturday.
In the 800-meter run portion of the women?s pentathlon, junior Melissa Gedeon (Delphos) claimed third, posting a time of 2: 26.84.
Action picks up again Saturday morning with a full slate of events. The 2005 MAC Championships day two begins at 11a.m. in the Jack Skoog Indoor Track on the campus of Central Michigan University.
