April 19, 2003
The men's and women's track teams reclaimed the Southern Ohio Cup after going down to the last event against rivals Cincinnati and Ohio on Saturday at the University of Cincinnati. Going into the women's triple jump, which was the final event, either team held enough points to bring home the Cup. Junior Bernitta Johnson (Wilkes Barre, Pa./GAR Memorial) broke a school record in the jump to bring the Cup back to Oxford, Ohio.
The format of the meet is unique in that the champion is determined by combining men's and women's team scores. Cincinnati and Ohio each had won the Cup the past two seasons until Miami reclaimed the Cup between the rival schools this season.
On the women's side, Miami totaled the most points by winning with 156. The Bearcats had 126 points while Ohio had 114. The RedHawks have gone 14-0 in the past three meets to win the Clemson Invitational, Miami Invitational and the Southern Ohio Cup.
Junior Erika Harper (Bedford, Ohio/Bedford) had a strong day for Miami by becoming a four-time Southern Ohio Champion on Saturday. Harper had the top time in the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and also the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay.
Junior Andrea Kremer (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard) wasn't too far behind Harper in the awards category. Kremer beat out teammate Kylee Studer (Edgerton, Ohio/Edgerton) in both the 1500-meter run and the 3000-meter steeplechase to take home two first-place finishes.
Miami was dominant in the relays as well. In the 4x400-meter relay, the foursome of sophomore Rasheda Malcolm (University Heights, Ohio/Hawken), sophomore Katie Dyer (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville), Jennifer Caldwell (Sabina, Ohio/East Clinton) and Harper rebroke the school record that they set last week at the Miami Invitational and bettered their NCAA Regional Qualifying Time.
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In the 4x100-meter relay, Harper, Johnson, junior MacKenzie Weidenhammer (Paulding, Ohio/Paulding) and junior Erin Connolly (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) combined to also take first place. The foursome added seven more points to Miami's overall score with a combined finish of 0:47.07.
Just like the running events and relays, Miami looked real strong in the field events. Sophomore Tabitha Schwartz (Concord, Va./Appomatox) set a school record and bettered her NCAA Regional Qualifying mark by jumping 12'3" on Saturday.
Johnson might have had the most exciting event of the day; by coming from behind to break the Miami school record and better her NCAA Regional mark by over one foot in the triple jump.
Junior Lauren Collins (Indianapolis,Ind./Lawrence Central) matched Harper and Kremer with two individual first-place finishes. Collins earned a season best mark in the shot put and also won the discus throw.
Sophomore Kristine Carlson (Hilliard, Ohio/Darby) and freshman Joanna Borawski (Bayonne, New Jersey/Bayonne) wrapped up the field events by both placing first in the hammer throw and the javelin, respectively. Carlson set a personal best with her mark and Borowski came in with a career-best distance also.
Miami will travel to the Louisville Invitational next weekend as they look to continue their recent success.
TEAM RESULTS Men Cincinnati 167 Miami 140.5 Ohio 85.5Women Miami 156 Cincinnati 126 Ohio 114
TOTAL Miami 296.5 Cincinnati 293 Ohio 199.5
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