Ohio women win with team effort

by Larry Kline
THE POST

Rob Ostermaier/THE POST Ohio University Sophomore Heather Moore competes in the long jump during the McDonalds Invitational at Peden Stadium. The OU women's team took first place in Saturday's meet.

Take good weather, add great performances and stir. Add a first-place spot that is decided by the final event, let stand for 30 minutes - presto! That's a great track meet, ready to eat.

The McDonald's Invitational followed that recipe Saturday. The women's track team (11-2) came away with a win, leading the seven-team field with 199 points. Cincinnati followed close behind with 188. Buffalo (143), Dayton (72), Malone (44), Marshall (40) and Ohio Wesleyan (31) rounded out the scoreboard.

The meet came down to the triple jump, the last event of the day. Ohio and Cincinnati entered the event tied with 183 points each. Bobcats placed third, fourth, sixth and seventh in the event, with Cincinnati taking only fifth and eighth. Multiple places were common for the Bobcats, with Ohio placing more than one student-athlete in 12 of the 17 events.

Ohio Head Coach Elmore Banton said he was not surprised with the win.

"I feel really good about it," Banton said. "I told the team this week in practice that I though we could win. Everybody stepped up - it was a really good team effort."

Ohio grabbed only two first-place finishes. Katie Geib took the 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.01. The Bobcats ran away with the 1,600-meter relay, beating Cincinnati by three seconds with their 3:51.08 performance.

Placing second for Ohio were Juli Algire in the shot put (42'1"), Geib in the high jump (5'6"), Jacki Waller in the 5,000 (17:45.42) and the 3,000 (10:28.17), the 400 relay team (47.61) and Jana Dearth in the 100 (12.15) and the 200 (24.92). Both of Dearth's times were personal records.

"I'm not too surprised with the win," distance runner Betsy Kirsch said. "We were pretty strong coming in."

This meet was the second time Ohio faced Cincinnati outdoors this season. At the first meeting, March 18 in Athens, the Bearcats nipped the Bobcats by 11 points.

Distance runner Anne Lawhun said this victory over Cincinnati gives Ohio some confidence.

"We see them often, so it's good to beat them," Lawhun said.

Banton said there are some things the team needs to address. "We still have to keep working," he said. "We are shifting focus in practice from strength to speed, and we also have to work on technique, specifically coming out of the blocks."

Ohio will try to fine-tune its performance when it heads to Huntington, W.Va., on Tuesday, to face MAC rival Marshall in a dual meet.

Despite the difference in the two teams' scores Saturday, this meet shouldn't be taken lightly, sprinter C'Rai Weedon said.

"You should always use every opportunity you have to get better," she said.

The meet begins at 3 p.m.