Track and Field Finish Second Day of Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/20/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 20, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State track and field teams finished their second of three days of competition at the 2000 Big Ten Outdoor Championships today in Iowa City, Iowa, at the Cretzmeyer Track. The day was mostly composed of the final events for the heptathlon and decathlon and the trials for tommorrow’s final events. At the end of day two after eight scored events, the women are tied for sixth-place (19 points) and after seven scored events the men are tied for seventh-place (12 points). Minnesota enhanced its score (47 points) to tie with Purdue at the top position on the men’s side and Minnesota is also leading the women’s side with 69 points. Combined, the Buckeyes have qualified over 20 positions for tomorrow’s finals.
The championships began Friday, and after three events, Purdue led the women with 36 points and Ohio State was sixth with four points. For the men, Iowa led day one with 24 points and Ohio State was eighth with one point.
Today was a big day for two of Ohio State’s women’s heptathlon athletes, Desire Jones (Jr., Akron, Ohio/John R. Buchtel) and Nicholette Chambers (Fr.,New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse)as both of them broke the school record set by Helen Wilks by scoring more than 5,112 points. Jones placed second in the heptathlon with 5,305 points and Chambers placed third with 5,287 points. At the end of day one after four events, Jones led the women’s heptathlon with a score of 3,322 points. Jones won the shot put with a distance of 44’10-1/4? and she placed third in the 100-meter hurdles with her fastest time of the season, 14.51. She cleared 5’5-3/4? in the high jump to earn fourth-place and she ran her fastest time of the season in the 200-meter dash, 25.57, placing sixth. Today, she won the javelin with a throw of 131’7?, a new personal record, and she placed fifth in the long jump (17’10-1/4?) and eighth in the 800-meter run (2:35.98). Jones also competed in the regular shot put competition and placed eighth with a seasonal best throw of 45’9-3/4?.
Chambers was competing in her first Big Ten Outdoor Championships, but she performed with expertise by winning the 100 hurdles (14.10), placing second in the long jump (18’11-3/4?). She placed third in three events, the 800 (2:24.83) the javelin (106’3?)andthe 200 earning a new personal record time of 24.63. She also earned a new personal record in the high jump clearing 5’3-1/4? (sixth-place). Chambers placed fifth in the shot put throwing a distance of 35’11-1/4?.
Outside of the heptathlon competition, Katy Craig (So., Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson) ended her phenomenal outdoor season (set hammer throw school record May 7, 2000, 175’5? an improvement of over 35 feet from last year) with a fifth-place finish the hammer throw with a distance of 173’3? and Alexis Schulist (Sr., Muskegon, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) placed 10th in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 36.04.06.
For the men, Ian Connor (Jr., Lexington, Ohio/Northmor Local) earned the Big Ten Championship title in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 8:43.53. This is Connor’s fastest time this season.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” said Connor. “This has really been my focus for this year, the Big Ten Championships. I really haven’t had the confidence I’ve need in the steeple yet, but it’s graduallycoming. Last year, I was sick and it didn’t go well. This year I redeemed myself.”
Rob Aldredge (Fr., So., Vandalia, Ohio/Vandalia Butler) represented the men in the decathlon placing 11th overall. His best performances came in the 1,500-meter run in which he placed second (4:33.07) and in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.90 (sixth-place).
Sunday’s competition begins at 10:30 a.m. and finishes at 3:45 p.m. with the men’s 4×400-meter relay. Both men’s and women’s teams are looking for a Top 4 finish. Based on marks earned during the regular season, the Buckeyes headed into the championships holding Top 5 positions in 21events in comparison to the other Big Ten schools. Complete championship results can be found by logging onto www.bigtenchampionships.com.
Ohio State Qualifiers for Sunday’s Finals Men’s 110-Meter Hurdles: Ryan Grear (14.00) NCAA Provisional Qualifier, Fastest Seasonal Time Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles: Dominque Calloway(13.07) NCAA Automatic Qualifier, Donica Merriman (13.77) Men’s 800-Meter Run: Rob Myers (1:50.86) Men’s 200-Meter Dash: Ryan Grear (21.11) Fastest Seasonal Time, Andrew Pierce (21.15) Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles:Ayanna Reece (58.32) NCAA Provisional Qualifier, Fastest Seasonal Time, Molly Logan (1:02.46) Men’s 4×100-Meter Relay: Ohio State (40:42) Fastest Seasonal Time Men’s 1,500-Meter Run: Rob Myers (3:49.01), David Gonzalez (3:50.00), Fastest Seasonal Time Men’s 400-Meter Run:Andrew Pierce (46.53) Women’s 400-Meter Run: Dominque Calloway (54.24), Tina Johnson (54.46) Men’s 100-Meter Dash: Ryan Grear (10.52) Women’s 100-Meter Dash: Donica Merriman(11.49) NCAA Provisional Qualifier Women’s 4×100-Meter Relay:Ohio State(44.81)NCAA Provisional Qualifier, Fastest Seasonal Time Women’s 1,500-MEter Run: Mandy Osmond (4:35.34) Women’s 200-Meter Dash: Donica Merriman (23.08) NCAA Provisional Qualifier
2000 Big Ten Outdoor Championships5/19/00 – 5/20/00 Women’s Team Scores 1. Minnesota 69 2. Purdue 62 3. Wisconsin 53 4. Indiana 42 5. Michigan 22 6. Penn State 19 6. Ohio State 19 8. Illinois 11 9. Michigan St. 10 10. Iowa 5
Men’s Team Scores 1. Minnesota 47 1. Purdue 47 3. Wisconsin 46 4. Iowa 44 5. Penn State 27-1/2 6. Michigan 17 7. Ohio State 12 7. Illinois 12 9. Indiana 10-1/2 10. Michigan State 10
