EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.—University of Southern Indiana senior distance runner Kara Martin (Herrin, Illinois) captured her first-career conference title as she raced to a first-place finish in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday night to lead the Screaming Eagles on day two of the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Martin completed the race in 10 minutes, 52.22 seconds as the Eagles scored the top two finishes with junior McKenna Cavanaugh (New Albany, Indiana) crossing the tape in 11:08.90 for a podium finish and another eight team points for the Eagles.
In addition to Martin and Cavanaugh, USI’s women got a big boost from junior Audrey Comastri (Indianapolis, Indiana) and freshman Emily Rempe (Owensboro, Kentucky). Comastri came with in a hundredth of a second in breaking her own school record in the 800 meters as she finished in 2:12.68 to secure her spot in the finals Friday. Rempe also punched her ticket to the finals of the 800 meters after finishing fourth in the prelims with a USI freshman record of 2:13.04.
As a team, the Eagles enter the final day of competition in seventh-place with a team score of 21 points. USI’s men slipped a spot to sixth after the second day as the Eagles were unable to post a score Friday.
Senior Kyle Crone (Maryville, Illinois) highlighted the second day of competition for the Eagles as he was 13th in the long jump with school-record leap of 22 feet, 6.50 inches.
The Eagles return to the track Saturday for final day of the OVC Outdoor Championships. ESPN Plus coverage begins at 12:25 p.m.
