March 28, 2008

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio track and field team will begin its 2008 outdoor season at the Southern Cup hosted by Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The Southern Cup is a meet that always features the track and field teams from Miami, Cincinnati and Ohio but will also welcome Xavier, Central State, Dayton, and Northern Illinois to this year's 38-event meet at George L. Rider Track Complex on Saturday.

The Bobcats will enter the outdoor season after taking 10th at the MAC Championships on Feb. 29 and March 1. At the conference championships, Ohio's Carime Reinhart and Kari Summers continued the successful seasons they started during the cross country. Reinhart and Summers placed in both the 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters, earning a sizable portion of Ohio's 18 total team points at the MAC Championships.

The Bobcats took 10th during the indoor season, they were picked to finish 11th in the MAC outdoor preseason coaches poll. Akron, after taking the team title at the indoor championships, was chosen to finish first with Western Michigan in second and Miami in third.

Ohio's outdoor schedule features two home events on back-to-back weekends in early May. While the Bobcats cannot host indoor track meets, the Goldsberry Track allows the Bobcats to play host to the Ohio Invite on May 3 and the Ohio Open on May 10.

Admission to the meet is $5 for adults, $3 for youth (18-years and under), and children (2-years and under) may enter for free.

While the Bobcats will begin their season at the Southern Cup, Miami began its outdoor season with the Shamrock Invitational hosted by Coastal Carolina in Conway, S.C. The Redhawks are lead in the sprint distances by the Israeli national record holder in the indoor 60 meter dash, Margarita Pogorelov. The sophomore took first place in the indoor 60 meters at the MAC Championships and placed second in the 200 meter dash.

Cincinnati began its season last week as well, at the Early Bird Relays at the Bearcats' Gettler Stadium. A total of 29 Cincinnati competitors qualified for the Big East Outdoor Championship in just the first meet of the season.

Ohio will have seven chances to prepare for the MAC Outdoor Championships on May 16-17 at Bowling Green with meets at Miami, Duke, Cincinnati, and Hillsdale, Mich., before the final two regular season meets of the season back home in Athens. Last year, Summers took first place in the 5,000 meters as a freshman at the MAC Outdoor Championships with a time of 17:19.12.

----------------------------

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