Sports
Ohio Seizes Success at Hilltopper Relays
By: Tyler Corbit
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Ohio had four athletes record first place finishes in five different events in a strong showing at Western Kentucky’s Hilltopper Relays this weekend.
Field events propelled the Bobcats, once again. Junior Jordan Porter, senior Emma Ryan and sophomore Gaza Odunaiya recorded victories in throwing events, continuing the teams pattern of dominance in the ring this year.
Leading the charge was Porter and Odunaiya in the shot put and hammer throw with tosses of 14.82m and 49.93m, respectively. Ryan topped opponents in the javelin and discus with throws of 43.43m and 43.91m, respectively. Odunaiya finished third in the discus, rounding out a strong day for her. Javelin, overall was the Cats’ strongest event, when considering Ryan’s win, and that freshman Tajah Haley and Tana Barrett finished in second and sixth place, respectively.
Senior Taylor Smith had a strong showing in the high jump, finishing seventh with a leap of 1.60m.
Ohio also had a strong showing in the running events with Bobcats placing all over the board, allowing them to rebound from its previous struggles in this area. Senior Tajah Smith had the best Ohio finish, 34th overall, in the 200-meter with a time of 26.03, and Gracie Huffman finished in top 15 of the 400-meter, timing 58.30. Junior Kaitlyn Logan ran 2:17.87, good for sixth in the 800-meter. Kristen Winkel finished fourth in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking at 14.26. Sophomore Josie Woosley finished in eighth in the 3000-meter steeplechase, running 12:29.38.
Ohio will have a split squad next weekend as they travel to Cincinnati and Charlotte to compete.