Marietta College primed for OAC Indoor Track & Field Championship
Pioneers will have 36 athletes competing in 26 events at championship

March 4, 2009
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College track & field program is gearing up for this weekend's 2009 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will be held on the campus of Capital University. The action is scheduled to begin Friday (March 6) at 2:30 p.m. and conclude Saturday (March 7) around 5:30 p.m. The top three finishers in each event will earn All-OAC honors. [OAC Championship site]

The Pioneers have lofty expectations and will be looking to move further up the league standings at the event, which is the climax of the indoor season. A year ago, Marietta's women earned 41.0 points to place seventh, while the men collected 30.0 points and took eighth place.

Head Coach Derek Stanley has 36 student-athletes, 15 men and 21 women, traveling to Columbus to represent the school at the meet. Overall, a Pioneer will be competing in 26 of the possible 38 events. However, the Weight Throw, one of Marietta's strongest events, will once again only be an exhibition event at the Championship.

"The team is going into this weekend with high aspirations and confidence in each other to get the job done," Stanley said. "The goal is to finish better than we ever have before at the indoor championships on both sides. All we have to do is show up and do what we have done all year, perform to the best of our ability against the best competition."

Marietta will have five student-athletes participating that earned All-OAC honors in 2008. Senior Brian Pallini (Medina), who has already provisionally qualified for the 2009 NCAA Division III Indoor Championship, will look to defend his title in the Weight Throw. Classmate Tiffany Kovacevich (Strongsville) also returns after placing runner-up in the women’s Weight Throw last year. Junior Randi Robertson (Avon Lake) had another runner-up finish as she took second in the 3,000m Run in 2008. Senior Jessi Larrison (Batavia) looks to make it four straight years of earning All-OAC recognition; she placed second in the 800m Run last season. In addition, senior Sheena Spencer (Parkersburg, W.Va./Marietta) returns after placing third in the 400m Dash in 2008.

"This week of practice has been flawless with our kids feeling light and fast," Assistant Coach Brent Wilkerson said. "As it gets closer to the championship, our team is getting hungrier to show they belong in the top half of the OAC. I believe that it is this mentality that will help our team accomplish its goals."

The following is a list of athletes and the events that they will be competing in this weekend.

Senior Sheena Spencer will compete in a team-high four events at the OAC Championship.

OAC Championship Site