April 26, 2008

HILLSDALE, Mich. - Ohio's Bahiyjaui Allen shattered her own program record in the shot put on Saturday afternoon at the Hillsdale Relays with a throw of 50 feet (50-00.00), good for first place. The Ohio track and field team recorded 12 other place finishes at the two-day Hillsdale College Gina Relays.

The event was named after Gina Van Laar, a former track and field All-American and 1988 valedictorian graduate of Hillsdale who passed away in 1996 at just 30 years of age.

Allen (Sylvania, Ohio) previously set the Ohio program record for the outdoor shot put last season as a freshman with a throw of 49 feet, 8.25 inches and bested that mark by 3.75 inches at the Hillsdale Relays. Allen's previous best this outdoor season was 48 feet, 10.25 inches at the All-Ohio Championships last weekend.

The stand out sophomore also took first place overall in the discus with a throw of 160 feet, three inches - more than four feet better than the second place distance and more than seven inches better than her previous season long.

Two other Bobcats placed in the discuss with Jessie Tanner (Newark, Ohio) and Emily Amendola (Beach City, Ohio) taking fourth and seventh, respectively. Melissa Gressick (Lancaster, Ohio) also performed well in the field, placing fifth in the javelin with a throw of 124 feet, six inches.

Tanner and Amendola shined in the hammer throw in action on Friday. Amendola placed fourth with a throw of 176 feet, seven inches - her best this season and the longest toss by any Bobcat in 2008. Tanner finished just behind her teammate in fifth with a throw of 168 feet, six inches which was exactly three feet better than her previous season-high in the hammer.

The Bobcats also placed two student-athletes in the high jump with Cathy Udeani (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) and Ashlee Reynolds (Belpre, Ohio) teaming up to take third place and eighth place, respectively. Udeani cleared the bar at five feet, seven inches, tying her season-best jump.

On the track, Rachel Beakas (Waterville, Ohio) took first place overall in the open 5,000 meters, crossing the finish line in 17:55.74. Carime Reinhart just missed placing in the invite 5,000 meters, taking ninth with a time of 17:21.11 - her second fastest in 2008.

Senior Andrea Maas (Cincinnati, Ohio) also placed on the track, finishing eighth in the open 10,000 meters with a time of 37:49.77. Her time over the weekend was the fastest by a Bobcat in the 10,000 meters this season with the previous best (also run by Maas) at 38:13.19.