Kari Summers and Annie Beecham are close to each other both in and out of competition.
The Ohio juniors are two of the six Bobcats who have qualified for the NCAA Mid East Regional meet May 29 and 30 in Louisville, Ky. They will both compete in the 5,000-meter run.
The duo has raced in the same events for the entire season. They are always competing with each other in addition to the athletes from other schools.
There's no way we could be running at the level we're at without one another
Beecham said. There's a constant training partner pushing you in every practice.
Because of that competition, they have had great success.
Summers won the MAC Championship in the 5,000 and 10,000-meter runs last weekend in Akron. Beecham won the conference cross country championship in 2008.
In 2008, Summers and Beecham also qualified for NCAA Nationals in cross country. Beecham finished 81st and Summers finished 111th.
They were the first Ohio athletes to compete at the national meet since Jackie Conrad in 1998.
When you have talented athletes it definitely makes the job of coaching easier coach Clay Calkins said.
The athletes have also made their marks on the school record books.
Summers holds the school record in both the indoor and outdoor 5,000-meter run as well as the indoor record in the 3,000-meter run. Beecham holds the 5,000-meter record in cross country.
(Setting school records) is a lot of fun
Beecham said. It gives us something to shoot for.
Last cross country season,we were talking to our graduate assistant, and we were joking about wanting to hold every record from the mile up between the two of us. Now it's actually starting to become a reality.
With all of the school records they have set
Summers and Beecham have already secured their places in school history. They also have more time to improve those records
as they are just juniors.
There is more than enough time for one of them to take records away from the other.
When they are not at practice or meets
the athletes still see each other constantly
because they live together.
They joke every year about finding new friends
but they never follow through
Summers said.
It's sick, really, Beecham said. We're good friends and we all hang out with the same people.
It's a very close-knit group.
Even with a close friendship, they both compete in an individual sport, where there can only be one winner in an event. But that doesn't matter to them.
There can only be one champion
Summers said. So if it's Annie
