Senior Carime Reinhart is from a small town in northern Ohio, but during her four years in Athens, she’s made a big impact.
The Bascom native has been a key contributor for the Bobcats since arriving in the 2004-05 season, competing in both track and cross county competitions. A three-time All-Ohio track athlete at Hopewell-Loudon High School, Reinhart transferred her high school success to Ohio with relative ease.
Being named the Mid-American Conference track and cross country freshman of the year made it look fairly simplistic.
“I think I’m the only one on the team that came from that small of a school,” Reinhart joked. “Competition definitely wasn’t what it was in high school (coming to Ohio); of course, you’re going from Division III running to college Division I, so it’s different.”
It might not have seemed like a smooth transition at first, but as she got comfortable with the competition, the results came along.
Reinhart’s experience has been a guide for the younger athletes, and with a conference title under her belt (10,000 meters last year), she’s developed desire for another championship that has been passed on to her teammates.
“My high school coach always told me I’d be a great 10K runner,” Reinhart said. “Coming into college, I just wanted to do well, but when I won the 10K (at last year’s MAC Championship), I just loved winning a championship — it was great.”
She finished her freshman year with six first-place finishes, but hasn’t been able to produce similar success in recent years. But her first-year performance could hardly be called a fluke, as the coaching staff knew what kind of athlete they were recruiting.
“It wasn’t that big of a surprise for the coaches (that she did so well as a freshman),” said head coach Clay Calkins.
“She stepped up to the challenge presented before her and really delivered.
“She was one of our top recruits in high school, and there was an obvious reason behind that,” he said.
Calkins described the freshman Reinhart as a hard worker, one who has constantly pushed herself to succeed.
“She came in as an impact performer for us,” Calkins said, “and she’s steadily increased her competition level each year. Her times have gone down each year.
“That’s an obvious sign of her hard work.”
Calkins said he’s enjoyed his time with Reinhart during the past four years and pointed out her willingness to help coaches and fellow athletes — both on and off the track.
Her consistency in both track and cross country has impressed Calkins, who along with distance coach Mitch Bentley, has never shown reluctance to introduce her to a new event. At the Green and White Invite two weeks ago, she ran the 800 meters for the first time since high school.
“(Reinhart) has done everything we’ve asked of her,” Calkins said. “Whenever you have athletes that do things like that, their performance on the track tells the tale.”
Reinhart has been named to the first team All-MAC each season in either track or cross country every year since her impressive freshman campaign. This past winter, she was named to the All-MAC indoor track team for the first time.
In her senior season, Reinhart is still one of Calkins’ top threats in the distance realm. After winning two events (800 meters and 1,500 meters) in her last home meet at the Green and White Invite, her coach sees an athlete in top form ready for her final ride.
Calkins is aware the competition level is far different at the conference championship, but he also knows that Reinhart is going to be focused on another MAC title.
“It’s a tall order (to win two events again), but we just hope she has a great conference meet,” he said. “Hopefully she can hit her times — there’s some great competition at MACs, easily the toughest all year.
“She’s going to be a veteran coming in this week, and she’s going to use her experience to excel.”
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