ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio men's track and field team claimed second-place honors in the Early Bird Invitational on Saturday. The Bobcats, who scored 150 team points, finished second to the University of Cincinnati (235), while outscoring Marshall (109.5), Morehead State (61.5) and Rio Grande (13).

Leading the way for the Bobcats in their 2002 outdoor debut was senior Steve Godek (Mentor), who scored 24 of Ohio’s points with first-place finishes in the shot put and javelin, and a fourth-place standing in the discus. His throw of 50’2 ˝” in the shot put outdistanced the field by more than two feet, and he edged out Cincinnati’s Ben Haber to win the javelin with a toss of 176’2”.

Ohio dominated in the high jump, taking the top three places. Junior Kyle Sheer (Bradford) led the way with a jump of 6’5”, while Chad Lutz (Dayton) and Brent Horst (Athens) tied for second at 6’2”. Senior John Whitney (Clymer, N.Y.) won the triple jump with a leap of 44’11”. Freshman Eric Bildstein (North Olmsted) took third in the shot put (44’9 ˝”) and seventh in the javelin (141’1”) to help the Bobcats in the field events.

On the track, Roger Redd (Pickerington) recorded a pair of top-three finishes for the Bobcats, winning the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.57 seconds. He took third in the 100-meter dash, finishing with a time of 11.31 seconds, while teammate Ron Hill (Martins Ferry) followed Redd across the line in the 200 with a time of 22.68. Cincinnati’s Muhammad Saafir won the 100 with a time of 11.12.

In the 400 meters, sophomore John Smith (Cleveland) held off Cincinnati’s Marc Kremer to win with a time of 50.56. Kremer finished just one-tenth of a second behind Smith, while Candun Griffin (Pickerington) and Mark Johnston (Valley View) were fourth and sixth in the event with times of 52.85 and 53.59, respectively.

Ohio took second in both the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 meter relay. The Bobcats were edged by Cincinnati in both races, with Ohio crossing with a time of 42.97 in the 4x100 and 3:23.07 in the 4x400 event.

Jason Lanza (Greensburg, Pa.) carried Ohio in the hurdles, placing third in both the 110-meter high hurdles and the 400-meter low hurdles. Lanza finished the 110 with a time of 15.29 seconds, while being clocked with a mark of 55.14 seconds in the 400. Scott Trahey (Akron) was the only other Ohio athlete to compete in the hurdles, finishing tenth in the 110 (16.77) and eighth in the 400 (55.14).

Freshman Drew Frum (Poland), one of the Bobcats’ leading cross country runners during the fall season, paced Ohio in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:12.89. He crossed in fourth place with Casey Batey of Marshall taking the title with a Goldsberry Track-record time of 14:59.97.

Ohio travels to Annapolis, Md., next Saturday, where it will take on Navy, Colgate, Delaware and Maine. The Bobcats will return to Goldsberry Track at Pruitt Field on April 6 when they host the McDonald’s Invitational.