Conference week is in motion and the Cardinals are ready.
On Friday and Saturday, the Clements Center will host the Ohio Athletic Conference Indoor Championship.
Both the men's and women's teams are coming off of last Friday's un-scored home meet feeling confident.
Senior Ashley Suffel won the 1,000-meter race and broke the previous school record by five seconds.
Suffel is ranked first in the 800- and the 1,000-meter races for this weekend's championship.
The power-house hurdlers - junior Lauren Rausch, junior Stacey Schall and senior Kelly Peirano - claimed the top three finishes last Friday, as well as the top-three rankings for this weekend.
Junior Allyson Tobin secured a win Friday and has a first place ranking this weekend in the shot-put.
Junior Kyra Smith did not compete Friday but still claims a first place ranking.
"Out of the last five years we have had three wins, and we want to do it again. Our goals this weekend are to support each other, come together and bring another win home," said Suffel. "Coach Welsh thinks we can be one of the best teams, not just in the conference, but in the region."
For the men, senior Jared French won the 800 Friday and is ranked first in both the 3,000-meter run and the one-mile run.
Junior Chase Schneider said, "We want to do the best we can this weekend. It's not realistic to win the meet, but we have to try as hard as we can to score as many points."
Assistant coach Ryan Borland said, "The guys are shooting to be in the top four and run to their potential. For the girls this will be a great opportunity to go out and do what we can to win another championship."
The meet starts Friday at 1:30 p.m. and continues Saturday at 10 a.m. Admission to the championship is free for all OAC students. The admission for non-OAC students is $2; for adults it is either $5 for one day or $8 for both days.
Although indoor track requires its fans to stand and cheer, there have been positive attendance numbers this season.
"All the meets have been good," said Suffel. "There's been a lot of people there. Every time I look up in the stands ... there's lots of people."
Contributing writers include staff writers Becka Clevenger and Brett Hiltbrand.
