Ohio State’s Track Teams Prepare For Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Feb. 22, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio –
Ready for the Big Ten
The Ohio State men’s track team travels to Bloomington, Ind. and the women’s team travels to Minneapolis, Minn. for the Big Ten Championships on Friday, Feb. 26 continuing Saturday, Feb. 27. The Big Ten Championships have been the focus of the Buckeyes’ indoor season, and head coach Russ Rogers feels both teams are ready. “I am pleased with the way we are running, and I feel we are ready for the Big Ten Championships,” Rogers said. “I believe the women can place in the Top 5 and the men in the Top 3. I think we will see five to six individual Big Ten Champions emerge from the meet.” The men’s team has shown success in more areas than expected. Rob Myers has proven to be a strength for the Buckeyes, especially in his freshman year. Courtney Cornwall, was recruited from Essex County Community College, and he is one of the members of the impressive 4×400-meter relay team and he is expected to finish in the Top 7 in the 400-meter run.
Women Look for Top 5 Finish
At the beginning of the season, Rogers believed the women had a good chance of capturing first or second. However the team has lost several members to ineligibility and Desiree Jones’ injury has also hurt the team’s chances of winning the title. Fortunately, the duo of Dominque Calloway and Donica Merriman has remained strong for another year. The two enter this weekend’s championships having the fastest times in the Big Ten in the 60-meter hurdles (Merriman 8.09, Calloway 8.19). Merriman has led the Big Ten’s times in the 200 (23.94) and Calloway is behind her with the sixth fastest time of 24.42. Calloway’s other strength is in the 400, where she leads the conference with a time of 54.29. Freshmen, Mandy Osmond and Nicholette Chambers have contributed their strengths to the team. Osmond enters the championships with the second fastest time in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.98. Rogers said he believes Chambers can finish first of second in the pentathlon. Throwers Katy Craig and Erin Carter both have shown improvements throughout the season. Look for Erin Carter to finish in the Top 7 in the shot put and Katy Craig to finish in the Top 5 in the weight throw. Freshman pole-vaulter, Rachel Zukowski, has significantly improved her personal bests over the past three meets. She broke the school record, and then broke her own record the week after clearing a height of 11’05-3/4?. Look for her to continue her momentum in this weekend’s meet. Men Ready To Give Their All
The men have a well-rounded team, which has the opportunity to stand out this weekend. Andrew Pierce leads the team in the 400, 200 and he is the anchor of the 4×400-meter relay team. Pierce is the returning Big Ten Champion in the 400, and is looking strong again this year with a seasonal best time of 46.35. The 4×400 team has the fastest time in the Big Ten of 3:09.82. Other members of the team are Courtney Cornwall, Joel Brown and Thomas Dickson. Ian Connor leads the team’s distance runners. He has provisionally qualified in the 3,000-meter run (8:05.31) and the 5,000-meter run (14:0023) and he is expected to finish first or second in the Big Ten. David Gonzalez and Myers have both rose to a new level in their distance events. Gonzalez and Myers are both expected to finish in the Top 5 of the mile and Myers enters the meet with the second fastest time (1:50.95) in the 800 in the Conference. Ryan Grear is the teams strongest hurdler and sprinter. His seasonal best in the 60 hurdles is 8.02 and in the 60 his best time is 6.81. Look for him to finish in the Top 5 in both events. Corey Johnson achieved his personal record in the pole vault at last weekend’s Scarlet and Gray Invitational clearing a height of 16’02”. If he continues his momentum, he should earn a Top 10 finish this weekend. Andrew Saurer has led the team’s thowers this season, and is expected to earn a Top 10 finish in the weight throw this weekend. The men’s distance medley enters the meet with the fastest time in the Big Ten (9:44.82) and is looking for a first–place finish this weekend. Rogers said the team is excited about the Championships and ready to be competitive. The Buckeyes will continue to train hard this week, and prepare to give their best performance of the season this weekend. “We have been working hard in practice and will continue to work hard this week,” Pierce said. “We just have to do the best we can next week, and if we do that I think we have the potential to be in the Top 5.”
Last Weekend’s Recap
Ohio State track teams ended their regular indoor season Saturday with the Scarlet and Gray Invitational at the French Field House. The Buckeyes competed against Ball State, Troy State, Akron, Ashland, Rio Grande, Central State, Wheeling Jesuit and Vanderbilt. Saturday’s meet was used as a guideline for this week’s Big Ten Championships. “We weren’t trying to break any records today, we just wanted to get our athletes competing and feeling comfortable,” head coach Russ Rogers said. With the end of the season nearing, many Buckeyes continued to improve their seasonal and personal bests. Donica Merriman and Dominque Calloway ran the 55-meter hurdles for the first time this season. Merriman (7.66) finished first and Calloway (7.76) finished second, both earned NCAA provisional qualifying times. Merriman also placed first in the 55-meter dash with a time of 6.95 and Calloway placed first in the 200 with a time of 24.79. Katy Craig reached a new personal record in the weight throw with a distance of 56’06-1/2?. Alexis Schulist (5:09.38) finished first in the mile and teammate Karyn Kelly (5:14.04) finished third. Both improved their seasonal times. Rhondalynn Crawford improved her seasonal time in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:37.21. For the men, Andrew Pierce placed first in the 200 with a seasonal best time of 21.63. Corey Johnson earned first-place and a new personal best in the pole vault clearing a height of 16’02”. J.J. O’Rielly (4:20.48), Derrick Butler (4:20.55) and John Pacak (4:28.58) all improved their seasonal times in the mile. Ryan Grear placed first in the 55 with a time of 6.35. Rob Myers and Marcus Harris placed first and second in the 600, both improved their seasonal bests. In the 3,000, Jon White and Josh Folger placed first and second, both improving their times. Andrew Saurer improved his distance in the weight throw to 54’11-1/2?.
Next Week’s Action
Next week several Buckeyes will be competing at the USATF Championships on Saturday, March 4 in Atlanta, Ga.
Individual Season’s Best Event Time/Mark Athlete Date 55-Meter Dash 6.35 Ryan Grear 2/19/00 55-Meter Hurdles 7.60 Joel Brown 2/19/00 60-Meter Hurdles 8.02 Ryan Grear 2/12/00 200-Meter Dash 21.63 Andrew Pierce 2/19/00 400-Meter Dash 46.35 Andrew Pierce 2/12/00 500-Meter Dash 1:03.05 Courtney Cornwall 1/29/00 600-Meter Dash 1:18.16 Andrew Pierce 1/22/00 800-Meter Dash 1:50.95 Rob Myers 1/29/00 1 Mile Run 4:07.31 Rob Myers 2/5/00 3000-Meter Run 8.05.31 Ian Connor 2/5/00 5,000-Meter Run 14:00.23 Ian Connor 2/12/00 High Jump 6’08” Jeff Cerveny 1/8/00 Long Jump 21’10-13/4?Jeff Cerveny 1/15/00 Pole Vault 16’02” Corey Johnson 2/19/00 Shot Put 48’10” Aaron Bilovecky 2/19/00 Weight 54’11-1/2? Andrew Saurer 2/19/00 4×400-Meter Relay 3:09.82 Cornwall, Brown, Dickson, Pierce 2/12/00 Distance Medley 9:44.82 Myers, Pierce, Gonzalez, Connor 1/29/00
Individual Season’s Best Event Time/Mark Athlete Date 55-Meter Dash 6.95 Donica Merriman 2/19/00 55-Meter Hurdle 7.66 Donica Merriman 2/19/00 60-Meter Dash 7.54 Donica Merriman 1/22/00 60-Meter Hurdles 8.11 Donica Merriman 2/12/00 200-Meter Dash 23.94 Donica Merriman 2/12/00 400-Meter Dash 54.29 Dominque Calloway 1/15/00 600-Meter Dash 1:37.21 Rhondalynn Crawford 2/18/00 800-Meter Dash 2:10.98 Mandy Osmond 2/12/00 1 Mile Run 5:00.00 Mandy Osmond 2/5/00 3000-Meter Run 10:07.93 Alexis Schulist 1/29/00 5,000-Meter Run 17:30.22 Alexis Schulist 2/12/00 High Jump 5’7-3/4? Tami Smith 2/12/00 Long Jump 18’8? Nicholette Chambers 2/12/00 Triple Jump 36’04” Nicholette Chambers 1/15/00 Pole Vault 11’05-3/4? Rachel Zukowski 2/12/00 Shot Put 47’07-3/4? Erin Carter 2/19/00 Weight 56’06-1/2? Katy Craig 1/29/00 4×400-Meter Relay 3:39.02 Crawford, Calloway, Osmond, Chambers 2/12/00 Distance Medlay 12:40.58 1/15/00
