Ohio is rested and healthy for the most important meet of the year.
The Bobcats will travel to Akron for the Mid-American Conference Championships, which will be held today through Saturday at Lee Jackson Track and Field Complex. It is the final team-scored meet of the season.
It would be great to be in the top half of the conference
coach Clay Calkins said. It's a pretty tight pack up in the top five so hopefully the kids will respond well and compete.
Ohio will look to improve upon an eighth-place finish in the MAC Indoor Championships last February.
We're coming off a finish indoors in the lower half of the conference Calkins said. To finish in the top half would be great.
Our goal is to get the best performances this weekend and looking forward for those who qualified for regionals.
This meet is also the last chance for the athletes to qualify for the NCAA Mid East Regional in Louisville
Ky.
in two weeks. Some of Ohio's athletes are closing in on regional marks as they look to join the five athletes that have already qualified.
The Bobcats have battled injuries throughout the season.
Junior Bahiyjaui Allen suffered an ankle injury earlier in the year and Cathy Udeani banged her knee at the Jesse Owens Classic two weeks ago. However
Calkins put to rest any questions about the health of his team.
We're in pretty good shape as a team - a little dinged up but it's nothing major, he said. If the team comes out and performs like I know they can, things will turn out all right for us.
Ohio's toughest competition will come from Akron
Miami and Kent State. All three teams finished higher than the Bobcats in February.
It's really Akron's meet to lose, Calkins said. They got a great squad put together, and that's a testament to the recruiting and coaching they've done.
At the same time
he said
anything can happen and the athletes have to show up and do their best to compete and see what happens.,",2,Sports,Vince Nairn,28391a.jpg,",",",",","
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