Hall of Fame Inductees
- Induction:
- 2012
Track and Field (2002-04, 2006)
Keturah Lofton was a three-time All-American, six-time NCAA championship qualifier and Big Ten Medal of Honor winner for the Ohio State women’s track and field from 2000-2006.A former walk-on who missed two full seasons because of injury, Lofton experienced tremendous success as a student-athlete despite the hardships she faced. Lofton earned a full athletic scholarship by capturing a title in the weight throw at the 2004 Big Ten Indoor Championships and set OSU school records in both the hammer (209-0.75, 2006) and weight throws (69-5.25, 2006) prior to graduating from Ohio State with a Bachelor of Science degree in dental hygiene. In addition, she won a Big Ten title in the hammer throw and became the first female in Big Ten history to break the 200-foot mark in the event.
In 2007, one year removed from her Ohio State graduation, Lofton returned to the Buckeye track and field program as director of strength and conditioning for the women’s throwers. During her one season with the Buckeyes as a coach and trainer, Lofton helped Veronica Jatsek best her school weight throw record with a throw of 70-7.75, a mark that still stands today. Lofton held the school hammer throw record until this past May, when Alexis Thomas shattered the mark with a Big Ten meet record-throw of 212 feet at the conference championships.
Now employed as a dental hygienist at Merion Village Dental in Columbus, Lofton is active in her community, teaching local children the importance of dental hygiene and raising money for the National Kidney Foundation as well as local charities. She recently participated in the Dentistry from the Heart program, a charitable initiative that offered free dental services to the Greater Columbus community.
A native of Zanesville, Ohio, Lofton currently resides in Columbus with her husband and two young sons.
