Pioneers get final OAC Championship tune-up at Marietta Open #3
Marietta men and women both place second at event

Feb. 28, 2009
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College track & field team hosted 20 schools for the Marietta Open #3 on Saturday (Feb. 28) afternoon at the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center. The Pioneers collected a pair of second place finishes in their final tune-up for next week’s Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Indoor Championship, which will be hosted by Capital University on March 6-7.

Mount Union College won the men’s competition with 159 points, while Marietta placed second with 114.50 points and Penn State University-Behrend was third with 103 points. John Carroll University claimed the women’s crown with 115 points. Marietta’s women were a close second with 93 points and Mount Union finished third with 78 points.

While the Pioneers did not set any school records at the meet, they did have some noteworthy performances, including three individual titles and seven new OAC qualifying marks.

“The meet before a championship is always an interesting one to me,” Head Coach Derek Stanley said. “We looked good overall but flat in some areas. I could tell these kids have next weekend on the mind.”

Freshman Ryan Householder (Frazeysburg/Tri-Valley) had a solid afternoon, both on the track and in his field event. Householder placed third overall in the 55m Dash after running a personal record 6.56 seconds, making him the second fastest 55m Dash runner in school history. He then tried his hand for the first time in the Long Jump and placed runner-up in the event. Householder leaped 6.61m (21-08.25), which is the best jump for a Pioneer since the reinstatement and less than one foot off the school record. His performance in both the 55m Dash and Long Jump met the A Standard for the OAC Championship.

“Ryan Household had a fantastic day!” Stanley said. “Being competitive in both the running and field events, makes him such a weapon for us a we move into championship week.”

Marietta also had three individual event champions on Saturday. Senior thrower Brian Pallini (Medina), who has already provisionally qualified to the upcoming NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championship, won the Weight Throw with a mark of 17.06m (55-11.75). Rose-Hulman will host the championship in Terre Haute, Ind., on March 13-14. Sophomore Zach Gay (Elyria/Oberlin) took first place in the High Jump after clearing 1.90m (6-02.75). Freshman Brittany Sims (Columbus/Eastmoor Academy) captured the title in the 300m Dash after crossing the line in 43.76 seconds, which met the B Standard for the OAC Championship.

Junior Cody Thomas (North Olmsted) ran a personal record in the Mile Run and qualified for the OAC Championship. Thomas crossed the line in third place with a time of 4:28.77, which met the A Standard for the OAC Championship.

Freshman Jennifer Emmert (Martinsburg, W.Va.) also ran a personal best in the Mile Run and met the B Standard for the OAC Championship. Emmert took second place with a time of 5:28.70.

Junior Randi Robertson (Avon Lake) competed in her first 1,000m Run of the season and took second place with a time of 3:11.35, which met the A standard for the OAC Championship.

Junior Brenda Puckett (Eaton/Preble Shawnee) finished seventh in the 800m Run after crossing the line in 2:30.61. Her time met the B Standard for the OAC Championship.

Marietta now turns its attention to the OAC Championship. Visit http://pioneers.marietta.edu early next week for a complete list of the Pioneers' qualifiers as well as a preview of the event.

On Saturday, freshman Ryan Householder became the second fastest Pioneer to ever run the 55m Dash.

Results