Robertson’s second place finish in the 3,000m Run highlights Marietta’s performances on day one of OAC Indoor Championship
Pioneer women enter the final day in seventh, while men are in eighth

March 7, 2008
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — Marietta College sophomore Randi Robertson’s (Avon Lake) performance in the 3,000m Run helped the Pioneers get off to a solid start at the 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Indoor Championship Friday (March 7) evening on the campus of Otterbein College.

Capital University leads the women’s standings with 28 points, while four other schools are within seven points through four events. Ohio Northern, meanwhile, jumped out to an early lead with 41 points through three events. The Pioneer women sit in seventh place with 12 points, while the men are in eighth with one point. A year ago, Marietta's women earned 26.5 points to place ninth, while the men collected 7 points and took tenth place.

Robertson, the school record holder in the 3,000m Run, entered the Championship with the eighth fastest time in the event. On Friday, she took more than 30 seconds off her previous best time en route to a second place finish and All-OAC honors. Robertson finished in a school record 10:36.27.

Freshman Tara Leach (West Lafayette) accounted for more of the Lady Pioneers’ points after she took sixth in the Long Jump. Leach also broke her own school record, leaping 5.14m (16-10.50). Her previous best mark was 4.97m (16-04.00).

The final point came in the Distance Medley Relay, when sophomores Shannon McDonald (Lorain/Amherst Steele), Sarita Dhiraprasiddhi (Hilliard/Darby), Brenda Puckett (Eaton/Preble Shawnee) and Logan Wern (North Canton/Hoover) combined to take eighth place after finishing in 13:36.88.

Three other Marietta women competed on Friday. Senior Mallory Sinoski (Fairpoint/St. Clairsville) took 12th in the 55m Hurdles, crossing the line in 9.26 seconds. Freshman Olivia Holiday (Malta/Morgan) placed 11th in the Pole Vault, clearing 2.99m (9-09.75), while sophomore Jen Valentic (Medina/Highland) took 14th in the event with a mark of 2.69m (8-09.75).

On the men’s side, the Pioneers’ lone point came in the Distance Medley Relay, when senior Harrison Potter (Rochester, N.Y./Gates Chili), freshman Randall Freeman (East Cleveland/Shaw), sophomore Corey Blattler (Barnesville) and sophomore Josh Mickle (Madison) put together a combined time of 10:51.19 and placed eighth.

In addition, freshman Matt Hickman (St. Marys, W.Va.) qualified for the finals of the 55m Dash after take seventh in the prelims with a time of 6.69 seconds.

Action resumes on Saturday (March 8) when the finals in the 31 other events will take place, beginning with the Women’s High Jump, Women’s Shot Put, Men’s Triple Jump and Men’s Pole Vault at 10 a.m.

Sophomore Randi Robertson placed second in the 3,000m Run at the OAC Championship

 

OAC Championship Site

Men's Results

Women's Results