It all comes down to this Saturday for the Ohio men's cross country team, when the Bobcats will travel to Toledo to compete in the Mid-American Conference Championships.
All the Bobcats' training should pay off for a strong finish against their MAC opponents at what coach Clay Calkins called the most important meet of the season.
Ohio, which wasn't picked to finish high among the top teams this season, has a chance to sneak its way into the top five of the 13 teams racing.
With a few strong finishes this year, including their first-place finish at the Ohio Invitational and their fourth-place finish at the All-Ohio Championships, the Bobcats are ready for challenge.
Jason Linton, who has been the dominant runner for Ohio this year, said he expects the team to perform well.
We are aiming to place as high as third
and I think we can do just that Linton said. We definitely think we can surprise some teams.
In order to achieve that goal, Ohio would need to finish ahead of many teams picked to outperform them. Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Buffalo and Akron will all be battling against Ohio for the third through seventh positions.
Predicted to win the race is No. 25 Central Michigan. Following them is rival Miami, picked to finish second.
Assistant coach Mitch Bentley said the team has a more realistic chance of finishing fifth overall.
We weren't picked to finish in the top six but our goal is fifth
and if we have a fantastic day
I think fourth wouldn't be out of the question
Bentley said. We'll have to look out for Buffalo and Akron because they are right behind us
but it's going to be a heck of a fight from third through seventh place.
Coach Clay Calkins said he was confident with the team's success up to this point, but the team needs to use its depth to pull through the race.
I think we'll pull together and have a good meet
Calkins said. We just need to get a solid performance out of five
hopefully seven guys so we can improve over last year's eighth-place finish.
