By Gary R. Rasberry
grasberry@dailystandard.com College conference track meets wrapped up over the last two weeks as runners, throwers and jumpers get ready for the upcoming regionals with chances to make the NCAA National Meet at Sacramento State on June 7-10.
At the Atlantic 10 Meet two weekends ago, several area athletes came up big.
University of Dayton freshman Amy Kremer, used to success as a member of the Minster track team while in high school, captured two championships at the league meet in Charlotte. Kremer won the high jump with a top mark of 5-7 to help the Flyers to a fourth-place showing at the meet. Kremer also picked up a win in the Heptathalon -- a seven-event endurance event -- with 4,243 points.
Kremer's excellence throughout the season earned her the A-10 Rookie of the Year.
Versailles grad Kelly Pohlman scored points in all three events she entered, winning the shot put title for the third time with a top effort of 47-5 -- earning a regional qualifying distance -- then taking third in both the discus (132-4) and hammer throw (158-9). Fellow former Tiger Jessica Schulte placed eighth in the 400-meter hurdles, with Kremer missing out on the scoring with a ninth-place effort.
Pax earns Big Ten honors
The Big Ten held its track championships at Michigan State this past weekend and it was Minnesota winning the women's title with Wisconsin taking the men's crown.
Purdue freshman Ben Pax (Coldwater) earned All-Conference honors with a fifth-place effort in the pole vault. Pax cleared 16-23/4 (4.95 meters) in the event to earn four points for the Boilermakers.
The height is a season-high for Pax, but 0.10 meters short of the NCAA regional qualifying effort of 5.05 meters.
OAC brings out big efforts
The Ohio Athletic Conference had its league meet at Marietta over the weekend, with local participants coming up with strong efforts.
Otterbein sophomore Katie Homan (Coldwater) placed well in the throwing events, taking second in the discus with an effort of 128-9, then placing fourth in the shot put with a toss of 37-81/2. The Cardinals placed second overall in the team standings behind champion Baldwin-Wallace.
Ohio Northern freshman Abby Schulte (Marion Local) placed third in the 100 dash and later ran a leg of the 400 relay, helping the Polar Bears take fifth in the race and fourth in the team standings.
Polar Bear teammate Deanna Kremer (Marion Local) placed sixth in the 10,000-meter run, finishing in a time of 41:39.97.
Wilmington runner Kacie Otting (Minster) was part of the Quakers' sixth-place 400-relay team. Wilmington placed eighth in the standings.
Capital's Julie Dahlinghaus (Minster) placed seventh in the 400-meter run while teammate Dena Thobe (Marion Local) also took part in the meet, during the preliminaries, as the Crusaders placed sixth.
Springer helps Falcons score points
Bowling Green's women's track team placed seventh at this past weekend's Mid-American Conference track meet at Toledo.
Junior Lyndi Springer (Celina) helped two Falcon relays score points, running legs of the 400 relay (seventh place) and 1,600 relay (eighth).
Roth gets one last meet in
With the regional meet coming up soon, North Carolina State senior Kris Roth got one last tuneup in.
The Celina graduate went to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Invitational and finished fourth in the Steeplechase with a time of 10:37.36, which is a regional qualifying time. Roth is a two-time national qualifier in the event.
The Wolfpack will go to the East Region Championship in Greensboro on May 26-27 with the qualifiers in those events advancing to the Nationals in California. Roth currently has the 25th fastest time in the nation with a time of 10:28.25 on April 21. |
