The Ohio track and field teams have the chance to capture the Southern Cup for the first time in six years Saturday in Cincinnati.
The meet, which features rivals Miami and Cincinnati, adds up the men's and women's scores to determine the champion. The Bearcats have won the meet the past two years.
It's one of the oldest tri-meets in the state of Ohio
coach Clay Calkins said. There is a lot of tradition there between us Cincinnati and Miami on the track. If everybody performs at the top of their game we have a chance. It's going to be a tough competition.
While the team overall has been facing numerous injuries, the women's distance squad is healthy and will help lead the team.
We've ran against Miami and we've done pretty awesome against them
distance runner Carime Reinhart said. I think we're ready for that next step.
Reinhart holds the fourth-best Mid-American Conference time in the 5,000-meter run thus far this season, but will run the 1,500-meter race Saturday. Andrea Maas has the sixth best time in the 500-meter run and also the eighth best in the 10,000-meter race.
On the men's side, the team will look for big points from standout sprinter Dan Bailey. Last weekend, Bailey ran the 800-meter race for the first time and finished with a time of 1:55.80. He holds the fourth-best 200-meter dash time in the conference and also own the third-best 400-meter dash time.
The men's team has been steadily improving since the indoor season, injuries notwithstanding, and is looking forward to the MAC Championships, which is less than a month away.
I think we're definitely coming together as a team and it's starting to show in our results
800-runner Drew Fattler said. I think at the end of the year we're going to have a lot of good times from a lot of people.
While most of the team is coming off the non-scored Bobcat Invitational, eight athletes competed in the prestigious, but muggy, Sea Ray Relays last weekend. The experience there will help throughout the season, distance runner Austin Schiele said.
It was great
besides the weather
Schiele said. The level of competition around us was spectacular. It was great to be around that and be in the thick of things.
The Southern Cup kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday at Gettler Stadium.
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