April 12, 2008

Complete Results

OXFORD, Ohio - The Ohio track and field team used a dominating performance from its throwers to take fourth place with 80 team points at the Miami Team Challenge on Saturday afternoon.

Jessie Tanner (Newark, Ohio), Emily Amendola (Greenville, Ohio) and Bahiyjaui Allen (Sylvania, Ohio) combined for 10 top-10 finishes with Tanner placing four times.

"It was just a phenomenal day for [the throwers]," said head coach Clay Calkins. "It was a meet for the throwers. They all were keyed in today."

Tanner took third in the discuss with a throw of 144 feet, fifth in the hammer throw with a toss of 165 feet, six inches, fifth in the javelin with a heave of 124 feet, three inches and a sixth place showing in the shot put with a mark of 41 feet, 3.25 inches.

Allen earned the Bobcats' lone first place finish at the Miami Team Challenge, clinching the gold in the discus with a mark of 152 feet, nine inches. She also placed second in the shot put with a throw of 45 feet, nine inches and 10th in the hammer throw after getting a mark of 147 feet, six inches.

Amendola, who placed twice in the top-10 at the Duke Invitational last weekend, placed in three events. The sophomore took second in the hammer with a throw of 175 feet, four inches (just more than three feet short of breaking the Ohio all-time record) and then took fourth in the discus with a mark of 139 feet. Amendola also took fifth in the shot put with a lob of 43 feet, 9.75 inches.

Also placing for the throwers was Melissa Gressick (Lancaster, Ohio), who took eighth in the javelin after tallying a mark of 121 feet.

Staying in the field, Christen Bosch (Rockbridge, Ohio) placed in the top-10 with a sixth place finish in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 10 feet, eight inches. Two other Bobcats placed in the jumps, with Brittany Vinson (Amelia, Ohio) recording a pair of top-10 finishes in the long jump and triple jump. The junior took third in the long jump and after soaring 18 feet, 2.50 inches and also placed eighth in the triple jump with a mark of 34 feet, 5.50 inches.

"With the inclement weather - windy and rainy conditions - it makes it tough for the jumpers," Calkins said. "For them to push through and place was fantastic."

Kristi Sturges (Parma, Ohio) also placed in the triple jump, taking sixth with a leap of 34 feet, 9.75 inches.

While the Bobcats excelled in the field events, they also fared well on the track.

Melissa Wiley (Columbus, Ohio) recorded a pair of top 10 finishes when she took sixth in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 14.80 and then placed 10th in the 200 meter dash, running a 26.34. Jessica Kestler (Maineville, Ohio) took eighth in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:07.50 and Sharon Gase (Plymouth, Ohio) finished right on her heels in ninth place with a time of 1:08.49.

Chanelle Harmon (Cincinnati, Ohio) also performed well in the short distance when she took fifth in the 100 meter dash with a time of 12.46.

In the long distance events, Carime Reinhart (Boscom, Ohio) continued her impressive senior season by taking fifth in the 1,500 meters with a time of 4:44.56. Rachel Beakas (Waterville, Ohio) also placed in a distance event, taking seventh in the 5,000 meters after finishing in 17:53.02.

The host Redhawks won the Miami Team Challenge for the third consecutive year with 212 team points. Bowling Green followed in second place with 92 points and Buffalo took third, finishing with 88.50 points, just 8.5 more than the Bobcats in fourth place.

The Bobcats will travel to Cincinnati next weekend to participate in the All-Ohio Outdoor Championships. At the All-Ohio Indoor event the Bobcats took sixth place.

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Joe Waltasti is the track and field contact in the Ohio media relations office. He can be reached via email at waltasti@ohio.edu.