One of four seniors competing, Lynn bids for her third OVC high jump title
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Katherine Lynn has a chance this weekend to jump to a land where no Tennessee Tech student-athlete has visited before in the track & field world.
The fifth-year Golden Eagle senior from Cookeville makes her bid to become the first Golden Eagle track & field athlete to capture three Ohio Valley Conference individual championships.
Lynn claimed the 2010 OVC Outdoor High Jump crown last May and added the league's 2011 Indoor High Jump title in March.
Lynn is currently tied with former Tech distance standout Stephanie Place with two individual crowns, winning an OVC Indoor title in the 3,000-meter run and an Outdoor 10,000-meter championship.
On Friday amidst the rolling hills of Western Kentucky, Lynn and the Golden Eagles compete in the 2011 OVC Outdoor Championships at Murray State University. The meet will be held on the Marshall Gage Track inside Stewart Stadium.
The high jump begins at 1 p.m. Friday, part of a first day of competition that features eight field events and 16 running events between noon and 7 p.m.
Many of the meet's finals will take place Saturday, with field events beginning at 8 a.m. The second days will feature eight more field events and 20 more running events. The men's and women's team champions will be determined when the day wraps up with the 4x400 relays at 2:10 p.m. The awards ceremony is slated for 2:30 p.m.
Eastern Illinois is heavily favored to repeat as both men's and women's champions, while Southeast Missouri and Eastern Kentucky are expected to offer the most resistance to the Panthers' efforts.
Tech coach Tony Cox, taking a team of 23 athletes, has no delusions of his squad challenging EIU for the title, but he does feel the Golden Eagle roster features several chances for posting high finishes, led by Lynn.
"Going by past performances, we have several people who have times or distances in the top eight in the conference coming into this meet," Cox said.
Senior thrower Ashley Mayhew, who is one of four seniors wrapping up her Golden Eagle career this weekend, will bid for points in both the shot put and the hammer throw. Mayhew has the fourth-best effort this year in the shot put and the fifth-best toss in the hammer.
Sophomore Madison Borden and freshmen Brittany Cotto and Peri Winborne are also among Tech's top prospects this weekend. Borden was eighth in the OVC last year in the discus as a freshman and has shown improvement this year. Cotto is currently ranked sixth in the 400-meter hurdles, while Winborne hopes to score points in the most grueling of races, the 10,000-meter run.
In addition to Lynn and Mayhew, seniors Danielle Catlett and Ifey Eguzo will also run in their final meets this weekend for the Golden Eagles.
Admission is $5 per day for adults, $1 for OVC institution students with a valid student ID and children under 3 are free.
To follow the live results of the meet, click here or visit:
http://www.ktccca.org/2011OVC/
