It may be the last chance for some, but not for the Otterbein track team.
A total team effort was needed on the track and in the field to secure the second-place finish for Otterbein at the Rick Meindl Last Chance Meet at Capital last Friday.
The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) teams dominated the meet, with Capital finishing first, Otterbein second, Wilmington third and Muskingum fourth.
"Our primary goal last Friday at Capital was to try to qualify more people in open events. It was a very good meet for us," said head coach Doug Welsh.
The women ran away with eight first-place finishes. First place was awarded to two of the field team members.
Junior Kyra Smith finished first in the high jump, clearing 4-11.75. Junior Allyson Tobin also finished first with a shot put distance of 43-05.25.
The other six first-place awards were pounded out on the track. Five of the finishes came from distance runners.
Freshman first place winner Jocelyn Hennon met the "A" qualifying standard for the conference meet in the 500-meter run.
"I'm excited that I got the standard because now I can hopefully contribute some points to the team at the conference meet," said Hennon.
Other first-place victors were freshman Lindsay Main in the 800-meter run, junior Sarah Blaney in the 1000-meter run, junior Abby Ludwig in the one-mile run and sophomore Nicole Reese in the 5000-meter run.
Like usual, the Otterbein women hurdlers were unstoppable. These players are setting the bar high for the OAC championships.
First place finisher Kelli Peirano, who came back from an ACL surgery, was pleased with Friday's results.
"I was really happy with how I ran at the Last Chance meet because it's been an inconsistent season for me, and I finally finished at a time I hoped I was still capable of running," said Peirano. "It's great to have the awesome hurdler teammates that I [have] because we all push each other to be our best and we are always right there with each other at the finish line."
Other hurdling standouts include junior Lauren Rausch, freshman Sarah Petraitis and freshman Paris Anderson who received second, third and fourth respectively.
The men's indoor team took fifth out of 10 teams.
Standouts include sophomore Alex Simko, who took second in the 500-meter run, and junior Michael Lash, who took third in the 55-meter hurdlers.
Both the men's and women's teams will be competing at 5 p.m. Friday at the OAC qualifier in the Clements Center. The qualifiers from this meet will then prepare for the OAC championships, which will also be held here at Otterbein the following weekend.
With impressive performance results from the two previous home meets, both the men and women have shown that they're comfortable in the Clements Center.
"I think our team has done some amazing things so far this season," said Peirano. "We're looking forward to good competition at the OAC championships."
