Luke Palmisano/THE POST Ohio pole vaulter Patrick Sneed clears the 14-foot bar during a track meet against Marshall and Morehead State at Peden Stadium. Sneed finished second in Saturday's meet.

They neared the finish line in a small pack in the 110-meter high hurdles - three Ohio hurdlers in front and one Denison hurdler bringing up the rear.

This race was just an example of how the tri-meet Saturday at Peden Stadium went for the Bobcats. They won 10 of the 19 events and came in second in nine events.

Ohio ended up with 166 points on the day to beat Marshall (121 points) and Morehead State (41).

Denison and Rio Grande also sent several athletes to Athens to qualify for the national championships, Ohio head coach Elmore Banton said.

"Their conference tournaments were last week," he said. "They're trying to get kids qualified, and they needed a meet to go to. Any coach will let them in.

"In fact, I set it up so the kids could have a good chance. I put them in the right lanes, hoping they could get some pushes."

The day started out right for Ohio, as Dennis Russo (191 feet, 2 inches) and Bret Williamson (171-10) finished first and second, respectively, in the javelin. Both throws were season highs for each thrower.

"I give all of the credit to Bret," Russo said. "As soon as he threw (his season-high), I got a shot of energy. It just pumped me up.

" The next throw, I threw my (season-high). When one guy on the team throws well, it gives you energy, and you step it up."

In the current Mid-American Conference standings, all three Ohio javelin throwers (Russo, Williamson and Steve Godek, who placed fourth Saturday with a throw of 156-6) are among the top 10.

Matt Kinsey won the first of three individual events in the long jump (21-10 1/4), and Kwasi Apraku placed second (20-1 3/4). Kinsey also won the 110-meter high hurdles (14.81 seconds) and the 400-meter hurdles (53.6)

"I was straining so much coming down the runway that when I planted, I lost too much energy," Kinsey said of his jumps. "I wanted to hit 23 (feet), but it wasn't there."

Kinsey won't be jumping in the MAC Championships, so he won't risk an injury in the hurdling events, he said. Next Saturday against Bowling Green will be his last time jumping in an Ohio uniform.

"I regret not ever practicing the long jump," he said. "I wish I would have developed the event a little more."

Chris Knaack, who had been out of competition recently with a back spasm suffered in spring football practice, was a double winner in the shot put (50-4) and the discus (147-6).

"It's good to have him back," Banton said. "He's not totally healthy, but he's coming around. He can place in both events (in the MAC Championships) if he's ready to go."

John Whitney won the triple jump with 45-2 3/4. Apraku also finished second in that event with 44-9 3/4.

"I was hoping to hit in the 46 (foot) range," Whitney said. "But I didn't hit the board on any of my jumps."

Chris Cave also placed first in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:28.52.

He ran neck-and-neck with a Morehead State runner for about half of the race but eventually pulled away and won by about 20 seconds.

"I just wanted to hang back and see how the race was going to go," Cave said. "I felt like I had a lot left in the tank. You don't want to do anything crazy. The main thing is to score the points."

Ohio got many easy points Saturday in the high jump and the 400-meter hurdles. There were no competitors from other schools in either event.

Brent Horst (6-4), Nate Noel (6-2) and Whitney (6 feet) came in first, second and third in the high jump, and Kinsey, Steve Schaub (53.88) and Mark Stevens (56.02) placed first, second and third in the 400-meter hurdles.

Schaub and Stevens also finished second and third, respectively, in the 110-meter high hurdles.

Before the last event, the 1600-meter relay, and sensing the victory at hand, the Ohio athletes circled up and began to chant:

"It's hot in here; it's hot in here; there must be some Bobcats in the atmosphere."