Ohio finished the MAC Indoor Championships last in the team race after two days of competition at Bowling Green. Ohio tallied 13 total points after placing in four events.
Junior Emily Deering rang in Ohio’s top finish of the meet in the 800-meter dash. After qualifying for the finals, she ran a splendid 2:12.24 to place fourth. The winning time was 2:09.97. Her teammate, Kaitlyn Logan, didn’t get past the preliminary round. Logan’s time of 2:20.96 secured her position at 14th. In the 400-meter dash, Marissa Handel finished her season with a time of 58.36 to finish in 20th.
Alyssa Atkinson made her MAC Championships debut in the 5,000-meter dash. She capped her race just short of the podium in ninth. She ran a season-best time of 17:12.66. Ellen Isaac followed Atkinson with a season-best performance of her own. The senior finished in 19th after clocking a 17:42.09
Three Bobcats qualified for the MAC Championships in the 3,000-meter dash. The race was contested as one final, ran late Saturday afternoon. Atkinson returned to the track after a great 5,000-meter dash and was again the highest finisher for the Bobcats. She ran a 10:03.45 for 13th place. Abby Miller and Christina Seas joined Atkinson in the event. Miller finished in 17th with a time of 10:10.31 while Seas finished in 20th with a 10:26.06.
The most action for Ohio at the MAC Championships came in the field. It had five athletes competing in three events. Gaza Odunaiya, Abby Moore and Cassidy Cleland headlined the field on day one of the meet in the weight throw.
Odunaiya secured herself a spot on the podium with a throw of 18.97 meters (62 feet) for seventh place. Moore, a freshman, concluded her championship day view by finishing in 10th after a toss of 17.26 meters (56 feet). Cleland ended her indoor career finishing in 14th with a throw of 16.33 meters (53 feet).
On day two, Keilah Causey followed up a lifetime-best performance at Ohio State a week ago by placing 18th in the triple-jump with a mark of 10.94 meters. Jordan Porter placed seventh in the shot put. Her put of 14.79 meters (48 feet) assured her the place on the podium. Moore followed her successful showing in the weight throw with a put of 13.40 meters (43 feet) to finish in 13th.
Ohio placed in one of the two relays it competed in. The foursome of Miller, Handel, Josie Woosley and Melissa Barrett ran a 12:01.81 in the distance medley relay to place fifth. Woosley ran the leadoff leg (1,200 meters) to get Ohio off to a great start. Handel and Barrett followed Woosley with the 400-meter and 800-meter legs. Miller ran the anchor (1,600 meters). Eastern Michigan won the race in 11:36.79.
In the 4x400-meter relay, the Bobcats didn’t see as much success. The team of Handel, Logan, Deering and Thelma Agyekum placed in last with a time of 4:03.71. Central Michigan won the race in 3:43.48.
Despite being in 11th after day one of competition, Ohio concluded the meet in 12th. Ohio’s 13 total points was 12 points shy of the next best team, Ball State, which took over 11th place once the final day of competition concluded. Eastern Michigan was crowned MAC Champions after scoring 154 total points. Runner-up Akron wasn’t close to matching Eastern Michigan in points. Akron finished with 76 total points on the board.
