The Ohio indoor track team competed in its seventh event of the winter season this weekend, as the Bobcats traveled north to Columbus for the Ohio State Tune-up.
Keeping true to its name, the meet gave Ohio some good practice and a fair gauge heading into the more important Mid-American Conference Championships next week.
Cathy Udeani, a junior from Sandusky, Ohio, once again set the tone for the rest of the squad. She finished first in the high jump, her signature event, with a final mark of 1.67 meters.
In comparison to the rest of the conference, Udeani is tied for fourth in the rankings with a seasonal best score of 1.73 meters. Erika Schroll from Central Michigan leads the MAC with a height of 1.82 meters.
When asked about the high jump heading into next week, Udeani said she didn't want to sound over-confident or cocky.
It's going to be very difficult for me to place high
Udeani said. There's going to be a lot of steep competition and we are all going to bring our A-game.
Bahiyjaui Allen, a senior from Toledo, Ohio, is another athlete on this team who always shows up and finishes high in the standings. Although she did not post a score in the weight throw, she did come in second in the shot put with a toss that went 14.09 meters.
Allen's toss in Columbus was a full meter behind her best throw of the season, which went 15.09 meters and is tied for second place in the conference. She trails only Kristy Woods from the University of Buffalo, whose best shot put toss went 16.16 meters.
Heading into the MAC Championships, Udeani sounded very optimistic about her team. She said that times have been dropping steadily and that everyone has been improving from week to week.
It feels like we're really hitting our peak at the right time Udeani said.
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Sports
Mark Emery
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