Feb. 23, 2007
ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio men's and women's track and field teams will conclude the indoor season with the Mid-American Conference Championships this weekend at the University of Akron. Akron's Athletic Field House will host six teams in the men's division and 12 on the women's side.
Last season, the men finished sixth at the meet with 46 points as Eastern Michigan ran away with the men's team title, scoring 171 points. Dan Bailey led the Bobcats with a total of 13 points, placing in three separate events.
The men this season finished third at the Akron Quad and fourth at the Marietta Open. Senior Scott Mayle has been one of the team's top contributors all season, hitting the provisional qualifying mark multiple times in the long jump. Mayle will look to capture his third MAC indoor long jump title this weekend. He will also be a top competitor in the 60-meter dash. In the distance events, senior Austin Schiele is the top seed in the 3,000-meter run and ranked second in the one-mile run.
On the women's side last year, the team took 12th with Carmie Reinhart contributing the team's three points with her sixth place finish in the 5000-meter run. Akron won the women's championship title, finishing with 118 points.
The women this season placed second at the Marietta Open and fourth at both the Akron Quad and the All-Ohio Championships. After leading the team to a win at the MAC Cross Country Championships in the fall, Reinhart will look to contribute in the distance events, as she is the current school record holder in the indoor 3,000 meters. On the field, the strong freshman class will look to contribute as they have all season.
"Indoors has never been as strong venue for us," said Head Coach Clay Calkins. "We are hoping that will improve for us this year."
The two-day MAC Championships are set to begin at 11 a.m. Friday with the heptathlon 60-meter dash kicking off the event. The event concludes on Saturday at 5 p.m.
