Larrison runs to 800m title and five more records fall for Marietta on final day of OAC Championships
Pioneer women finish seventh, while men take eighth

May 13, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — Despite the forecast, it turned out to be a beautiful weekend (May 12-13) on the campus of Marietta College for the 2006 Ohio Athletic Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships. The league's student-athletes took full advantage of the conditions, breaking nine OAC Championship records. Mount Union's men (212 points) and Baldwin-Wallace's women (197.50 points) each claimed their second straight team title on Saturday.

Marietta, who was hosting the first major event in its new facility at Don Drumm Stadium, had its women take seventh with 44.50 points and men finish eighth with 44 points. The men set a new school record for points in the Championship, while the women accumulated the most since 1988 when they had 48 and finished fifth.

Freshman Jessi Larrison (Batavia) became just the fifth Lady Pioneer ever to win an individual title Saturday, leading the 800m run from start to finish and crossing the line in a time of 2:18.68. Wendy Meade was the last Marietta woman to do so; she won both the long jump and triple jump in 1989. Larrison also took fifth in the 1,500m run with a time of 4:58.22.

Freshman Tiffany Kovacevich (Strongsville) also earned All-OAC honors, which go to the top three finishers in each event, with a third-place finish in the shot put. Kovacevich threw a school record 38-03.50 (11.67m). Teammate Alecia Benninger (Akron/Springfield) (36-11.00/11.25m) took seventh in the event.

Sophomore Breanne Kosar (Wheeling, W.Va./Wheeling Park) tied her own school record in the high jump (5-03.00/1.60m) and finished fourth. The final six athletes went out after clearing the 5-03.00 mark, so judges decisions based on misses helped determine the final places in the event.

Two of the women's relay teams broke school records on Saturday. The 4x100m relay, which consisted of sophomore Joanna Ferrell (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South), Marissa Barnhart (Avon), Mallory Sinoski (Fairpoint/St. Clairsville) and Cayli Cummons (Parkersburg, W.Va.) crossed the line in 5.42 seconds to take seventh place. The 4x400m relay, which featured freshman Jessica Haas (Winchester/Eastern Brown), freshman Leslie Pyle (Kansas City, Mo./Pembroke Hill), junior Brea Gardner (Somerset/Sheridan) and Larrison, also broke the school record and placed eighth with a time of 4:10.72.

Freshman Melissa Schulte (Pemberville/Eastwood) set a new personal record in the triple jump (35-00.50/10.68m) and finished fifth.

Senior Clark Spears (Brunswick) broke the school record in the 3,000m steeplechase (9:46.42) and placed fifth. In addition, teammates Harrison Potter (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili) (7th/9:51.98) and Kyle Hummel (Indiana, Pa./Indian Area) (15th/10:25.57) both set new personal records in the event.

Freshman Seth Townsend (Belleville, W.Va./Parkersburg South) took fourth in the high jump (6-03.25/1.91m) and fifth in the triple jump (43-02.25/13.16m). The triple jump mark was a new personal record.

Sophomore Dan DeZordo (Louisville/Marlington) (46-03.50/14.11m) took seventh in the shot put.

The men's 4x400m relay, which included freshman Isiah Johnson (Englewood, N.J./Horace Mann), freshman Jason Cocca (Middleburg Heights/Midpark), freshman Jered Mitchem (Marietta/Warren Local) and senior Jeff Sherman (Akron/North) set a new season best and placed sixth.

This concludes the season for Marietta's team. A few individuals that have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships may compete Friday (May 19) at the Baldwin-Wallace Twighlight in Berea, Ohio.

Freshman Jessi Larrison won the 800m run to become just the fifth Pioneer women to ever win an individual title at the OAC Outdoor Championships

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