Feb. 6, 2009
MARIETTA, Ohio - The Ohio track and field team claimed first place at the Marietta Open on Friday. The indoor meet, hosted by Marietta College, featured 11 women's teams, and the Bobcats earned 261 points to finish first, while second-place Robert Morris garnered 126.
Senior Melissa Wiley (Columbus, Ohio) won two events on the track. In the 200 meters, she ran a time of 26.35 to cross the line first, while in the 55-meter hurdles, she recorded a season-best 8.41 for the victory.
Brittany Vinson (Amelia, Ohio), also a senior, took first in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7.49 in the finals. She notched a season-best 7.44 in the preliminaries. Vinson also placed third in the 200 meters and second in the long jump with a season-best 17-10.25.
In the 400 meters, senior Susan Plungis (Great Barrington, Mass.) beat the field with a time of 59.55. Plungis was also a member of the first-place 4x400-meter relay team that ran a 4:10.05, a Bobcat-best this year. Also on the team were Megan Helgeson (Franklin, Ohio), Courtney Weiss (Perrysburg, Ohio) and Hope McCarty (Hudson, Ohio). Helgeson claimed second in the 500 meters with a season-best 1:25.00, while Weiss, a freshman, placed third in the 800 meters with a season-best mark of 2:24.49.
In the distance events, junior Jenielle Hunt (Pittsburgh, Pa.) ran a season-best 5:16.05 in the mile run to earn second, while senior Rachel Beakas (Waterville, Ohio) came in third. Beakas placed second in the 3,000 meters, while Hunt finished third in the event. Junior Abigail Swift (Newark, Del.) won the 5,000 meters in a time of 19:35.59. Ohio also won the distance medley relay, with Celia Struble (Vandalia, Ohio), Weiss, McCarty and Plungis representing the Bobcats.
In the field events, junior Cathy Udeani (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) cleared a season-best 5-05.75 in the high jump to win the event, while Ashlee Reynolds (Belpre, Ohio), also a junior, came in second. Christen Bosch (Rockbridge, Ohio), another junior, set a season-best in the pole vault with a mark of 11-06.00 to claim the victory.
Junior Bahiyjaui Allen (Toledo, Ohio) won the shot put for the fourth time this year with a heave of 49-01.50, while Emily Amendola (Beach City, Ohio) and Jessie Tanner (Newark, Ohio) placed second and third, respectively. Tanner won the weight throw for the second time with a mark of 54-04.50, with Allen finishing in second.
The All-Ohio Indoor Championships are up next for Ohio. The two-day event begins on Friday, Feb. 13 and concludes Saturday, Feb. 14 in Findlay, Ohio.
