The Ohio cross country teams look to extend their seasons one step further on Saturday as they compete in the NCAA Regional meet at Bowling Green.
While the men's team hopes to get a feel for the competition as they prepare for the future, the women's team has a very good shot of qualifying for NCAA Nationals.
We're going in there expecting to get the women's team to nationals
coach Clay Calkins said. We're going to have to have to finish probably top four to do that. Those are high goals to have but that's what you need to have when the ladies are competing at the level they are.
The women's team has been riding a wave of success, capturing the All-Ohio Championship and most recently the Mid-American Conference Championship.
They're doing a great job this year and hopefully we can continue with the success and it can transfer right into this meet Calkins said.
The regional stage is nothing new to most of the top women's runners, as the team placed 11th at the meet last year. Carime Reinhart and Andrea Maas led the team then by finishing 15th and 44th respectively, and will look to improve on that this year.
We hope to qualify for nationals
the senior Maas said. It's not out of the question
but we will all have to run very
very well.
Freshman Annie Beecham is the only member of the women's top five who did not run at Regionals last year; sophomores Rachel Beakas and Julia Weisneborn both placed in the top 70 last year.
On the men's side, the young team will look to get a feel for regional competition as they prepare for the coming years.However, some men have a shot at qualifying for nationals individually. Top finishers at the meet qualify for nationals, but if their
team qualifies, their individual spot is bumped down to the next finisher whose team did not qualify.
One advantage the Ohio teams hope to take into the meet is their experience on the Bowling Green course. Many of the Bobcats' top runners were in action on the course at the Bowling Green invite on Sept. 16.
We definitely have an advantage
senior Brian King said. We know where the hills are
we know it's really flat
and anytime you've run at a place you can visualize the race better.
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