Following a strong showing at the McDonald’s Invitational, the Bowling Green track and field team will travel to Columbus, Ohio to compete in the All-Ohio Championships tomorrow. Head coach Scott Sehmann is optimistic about his team’s chances going into the meet.
“I think we’re probably as fit as we’ve been all year, workouts Monday were probably some of the best we’ve had all year,” Sehmann said. “Even though the weather hasn’t been very nice to us this week I think the team has worked hard and had a good week of practice and I expect things to carry over into the meet this weekend.”
The Falcons will be without the services of Ellen Alkire this weekend. Alkire will stay behind as she battles through a case of kidney stones.
Besides Alkire, the Falcons have a healthy squad going into the All-Ohio Championships. Alicia Taylor has experienced slight discomfort in her foot and Amy Henry is still easing her way back into competition after sitting out the first two meets of the outdoor season with a torn quadriceps muscle. However, both runners will compete tomorrow.
The Falcons are coming off a third place finish in Athens, Ohio last weekend. In that meet, the Falcons recorded five individual first place finishes. Sehmann believes his team has a good chance of building on last week’s success.
“In some areas I certainly think we will be extremely competitive, others we’re still working our way up,” Sehmann said. “We’ll fit in rather well with most of the schools there…I certainly think we’ll challenge to win some events.”
The Falcons should have the best weather conditions to compete in since opening the outdoor season in Clemson, S.C. on March 22. Temperatures are expected to be in the 60’s and there is no rain in the forecast.
The meet will be hosted by Ohio State and will be held at Jesse Owens Stadium. Sehmann is excited to have his athletes compete in a stadium he referred to as “one of the best facilities in the country.”
With the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships just over a month away, tomorrow’s meet will give the Falcons a chance to see where they stand among other division one and division two schools in the state.
Several Falcons have gotten off to strong starts in the outdoor season. Alicia Taylor has finished either first or second in every event she has competed in during the last two meets. Kerri McClung has experienced success in the shot put early on, finishing first in the two out of the first three meets of the season. The relays have been another area of success for the Falcons thus far. They recorded two first place finishes in the relays last weekend.
Tomorrow’s meet is scheduled for 10 a.m.