The Observer, February 16, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 17
Erb's win drives women's best-ever finish at All-Ohio
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Case's indoor track teams traveled to Otterbein College last Saturday for the All-Ohio Championships. The men's team finished 13th out of 19 teams, while the women placed higher, finishing fifth out of 18.
"The All-Ohio Championships put us in a good place to evaluate where we are and where we need to be for the conference finals," said senior sprinter and long jumper Emily Bruckner. "It's a different level of competition than the other meets earlier in the year."
The women's fifth place finish was the highest finish in school history for a women's team from Case in the All-Ohio Championships.
"The great thing about it was that it was such a balanced effort. The throws team did well, the sprinters did well, and the distance team did well," said head track and field coach Dennis Harris. "You do your event as an individual, but you need everyone to contribute for the team to do well."
Several women had outstanding performances. Esther Erb won the 5000-meter run with a time of 17:26:54.
"I slowed down a little in the second half, but not nearly as much as I have generally in the past, so that's what made the difference. My first and last laps were exactly the same time, and all of my other laps were within a two-second range," said Erb.
Freshman Whitney Horne finished fifth in the 55-meter dash with a time of 7:53, overcoming a difficult start to set a school record.
"I was not at all pleased with my race. I had a horrible start and spent the majority of the race making up for it. It's okay though, because I know now what I need to do to improve and get my time down," said Horne.
Sophomore Kristen Bowhers finished fourth in the one mile run with a time of 5:20:04. Case also had two second-place finishers in the field events, sophomore Lauren Dudley in the weight throw and freshman Allison Early, who set a personal record of 11.62 meters in the shot put.
The men scored 16 points to finish 13th. "The number of points that the men's team scored is not reflective of the work that our individuals have put into their events," said junior thrower David Jeffries.
Coach Harris agreed.
"The men don't have as much depth as the ladies. They're working hard to improve before conferences," he said.
Sophomore Ryan Gjoraas placed seventh in the 5000-meter run with a time of 15:48:29. Derrick Moore, also a sophomore, finished sixth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 51.54 seconds.
"I was really pleased with Derrick's performance," said Harris.
Three Spartans placed in the field events. Paul Hannen placed sixth in the weight throw, with a 14.21 meter throw.
"I had a decent throw in the weight, but the most important part was that all the team members stepped up and contributed," said Hannen.
Freshman Obinna Nwanna placed sixth in the high jump. Jeffries also placed sixth in the shot put and eighth in the weight throw with a personal best of 13.56 meters.
Athletes must qualify for the meet. Twenty-five teams send their athlete's top performances to the school hosting the meet. This year, the school was Otterbein. Of all the times submitted, only 12 are chosen for each track event, and 16 are chosen for field events.
"It's a big honor for everyone who's selected," said Harris. The track teams continue with their preparation for the conference and national meets with the All-City Championships tonight, which take place tonight at Baldwin-Wallace at 5:30 p.m.
