It must have been a déjá vu for Ohio coach Clay Calkins, watching his Bobcats falling from ninth to tenth place on the second day of the Mid-American Conference Championships.
Just one year days prior to Friday, Calkins also witnessed his team falling from ninth to tenth place at the conference meet.
The story wasn’t meant to repeat itself on the rainy, windy day in Akron, as the Bobcats were in good position to place high. Senior Alexis Geiger was seeded fourth in the long jump, while senior Ashley Waddington was seeded sixth in the 3000-meter steeplechase. Both, however, finished out of the scoring ranks.
Geiger fouled her first two attempts and had to play it safe on the third, reaching a mark of 18ft., 5 in., placing her 11th overall.
Waddington, in the meantime, ended her collegiate career with a 10th place finish in a time of 11:07.40 minutes, which was 19 seconds off her season best.
With the outgoing class not securing the points for the Bobcats, the underclassmen carried the team.
Kayla Scott, a freshman, overrode Waddington’s result by crossing the finish line in eighth with a time of 11:00.89 minutes to secure a point for the Bobcats.
Heptathlon athlete Chanda Cuckler, score the best result for the Bobcats in the event since 1994 by finishing fourth with 5034 points.
The sophomore carried her momentum from the first day to the second day, finishing second and third in the javelin throw and long jump, respectively. Her ninth place finish in the closing 800-meter event prevented her from placing higher.
Ohio, however, is in position to not go through another déjá vu tomorrow, falling from 10th to 11th place, as three Bobcats qualified for Saturday’s finals.
Junior duo Melissa Thompson and Juli Accurso qualified for the final in the 1500-meters, while senior Danielle Winningham qualified for the 800-meter final in a new season best of 2:09.30 minutes.
am794811@ohiou.edu
