Track and Field Men’s and Women’s Teams Finish Third at Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 21, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State track and field teams reached their seasonal goal of earning a Top 4 finish as the women’s team tied with Wisconsin for third-place (105) and the men’s team placed third (103) in today’s third and final day of competition at the 2000 Big Ten Outdoor Championships in Iowa City, Iowa, at the Cretzmeyer Track.
The women’s third-place finish is the highest finish ever in Ohio State’s history. They placed fourth from 1996 to 1998, and they placed sixth in the 1999 season. The women had first-place finishes in five events and Top 3 finishes in 10 events.
The men earned their highest Top 3 finish since 1994 when they placed second. The team’s efforts show a remarkable comeback season in comparison to their 10th place finish at last year’s championships. The men earned five first-place finishes and seven Top 3 finishes. The Wisconsin men’s (155) and the Indiana women’s (135) track and field teams claimed the 2000 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Leading the Buckeyes to their outstanding finishes were Andrew Pierce (Jr., Yellow Springs, Ohio/Yellow Springs) and Donica Merriman (Jr., Trotwood, Ohio/Trotwood Madison) as both received the honor of outstanding performer of the championships. Merriman earned this honor at the 2000 Indoor Big Ten Championships and she is the fifth athlete in Big Ten history to receive this honor in both the indoor and outdoor seasons. This is also the second-consecutive year that Ohio State’s women’s team has emerged from the outdoor championships with the outstanding performer. Last year Dominque Calloway (Sr., Aurora, Colo./Denver South) received the award.
Merriman is now the Big Ten Champion in three events and she was the anchor of the winning 4×400-meter relay team and she anchored the third-place 4×100-meter relay team, which reached a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 44.76, its fastest time this season. Every event she competed in earned either a NCAA provisional or automatic qualifying mark.She started her day off with a win in the 100-meter hurdles with the automatic qualifying time of 12.89. “I knew I had to get a good start, and that I needed to push-pull off of the hurdles to get myself in sprint-mode,” said Merriman. “I think I did a good job of that considering I haven’t ran hurdles in two weeks. So I am very happy with my performance.”
Then Merriman won the 100-meter dash earning a provisional qualifying time of 11.35.
“I got out okay,” Merriman said. “There was a crosswind, so it kept pulling me into lane five. So I just tried to maintain, and keep my momentum. It was a real close race.”
In Merriman’s final individual race she sped to her second consecutive Big Ten win in the 200 with a provisional qualifying time of 23.32.
“I’m happy about winning because I’m the returning champion,” said Merriman. “I didn’t get out as early as I wanted to because I was a little weak from the previous races, but I just kept trying to fight it out in the end.”
Pierce set a new limit for the Big Ten in the 400-meter dash as he broke the meet record, 45.00, set by Ohio State legend, Butch Reynolds at the 1987 Championships which was also held in Iowa City, with an automatic qualifying time of 44.87. He entered the meet with three provisional marks earlier in the season, and this was his last opportunity to earn an automatic mark before the NCAA Championships on May 30-June 3. Today’s time now places him third in the nation.
“I didn’t expect to run that fast, but it all just came together,” said Pierce. “I’m feeling pretty good right now. Breaking Butch’s record is quite an accomplishment. He’s someone I really look up to. He was my coach my freshman year, and I feel really good about it.”
He also earned his fastest time of the season, 20.95, in the 200 placing him in second. In the final event of the championships, he helped Ohio State finish the day with a win by anchoring the 4×400-meter relay. The relay team earned their fastest time of the season, 3:05.80, a provisional qualifying mark. Other members of the team were Kambon Sampson (Jr., Barrovalie, St. Vincent/Barrowvalie Secondary), Thomas Dickson (Jr., Newark, N.J.) and Edison Francis (Jr., St. James, Trinidad/Queens Royal College).
Running in her last Big Ten Championships was Ayanna Reece (Sr., Bronx, N.Y./George Washington), who won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.31. In yesterday’s trials, Reece earned a provisional qualifying time of 58.32, her fastest time of the season.
“It feels great,” said Reece. “It’s not quite the time I wanted to run, but I’m happy because I’m a senior, and this is my last performance. So the time wasn’t there, but I won and I’m happy that I contributed to the team.”
Today also was Calloway’s last Big Ten Championship, and the two seniors along with Tina Johnson (Jr., Burlington, N.J./Burlington Regional) and Merriman helped lead the 4×400-meter relay to a first place finish as they earned a provisional qualifying time of 3:37.24 for the first time this season. Calloway also placed third in the 100 hurdles with a automatic qualifying time of 13.09. Along with her success in the 4×400-meter relay, Johnson earned her fastest time of the season, 54.75, in the 400 (fourth-place).
Tami Smith (Fr., Galloway, Ohio/Westland) placed second in the high jump clearing 5’8-1/2?. This mark ties her personal record. Nicholette Chambers (Fr., New Haven, Conn./James Hillhouse) earned a new personal record in the triple jump with a distance of 38’11-1/2?. Saturday was a big day for Desire Jones (Jr., Akron, Ohio/John R. Buchtel) and Chambers who both broke the school record set by Helen Wilks by earning over 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. Jones also competed in the regular shot put competition and placed eighth with a seas onal best throw of 45’9-3/4?.
Chambers was competing in her first Big Ten heptathlon but she competed with expertise by winning the 100 hurdles (14.10) and placing third in the 800 (2:24.83) and in the 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?.
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?. Mandy Osmond (Fr., Guelph, Onterio, Canada/St.James) placed sixth in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:36.59 and Alexis Schulist (Sr., Muskegon, Mich./Reeths-Puffer) placed 10th in the 10,000-meter run with a time of 36.04.06 and she placed 15th in the 5,000-meter run (18.02.40. Erin Carter (Fr., Logan, Ohio/Logan) placed ninth in the shot put behind Jones with a throw of 45’5-3/4?.
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 gradually coming. Last year, I was sick and it didn’t go well. This year I redeemed myself.”
Connor also placed fourth in the 5,000-meter run earning his fastest time of the season, 14:20.25 and J.J. O’Rielly (So., Dover, Ohio/Tuscarawas Central Catholic) placed sixth with a time of 14:24.96.
Two freshman proved they have a bright future ahead of them as Rob Myers (Fr., Rushville, Ohio/Fairfield Union) and George Hoover (Fr., Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) both won their first individual Big Ten titles. Myers earned a new personal record as he won the 1,500-meter run with the time of 3:46.47.
“I think it went really well. I got knocked back right at the start, but I relaxed and kept making my way up to the front,” Myers said. “When it came down to the last 400-meters I knew I had pretty good speed, so I went for it and hung on, and pushed them for as long as I could.”
Hoover earned a provisional qualifying mark and improved the school record (which he set on May 13, 2000, 220’6?) with a throw of 227’5?.
“Today was great. I was really down going in the finals because I was in fourth place,” said Hoover. “I just found it in me and threw a (personal record) throw to go ahead, and then I got another big one with my last throw. I just felt great.”
Ryan Grear (Jr., Barnsville, Ohio/Barnsville) also had a big day as he earned a provisional qualifying mark of 13.84 in the 110-meter hurdles. This was his fastest time of the season and he finished second. He also earned his fastest time of the season, 10.41, in the 100-meter dash in which he placed fourth. He was also a member of the fifth-place (40.94) 4×100-meter relay team. Yesterday in the trials, the team earned their fastest time of the season, 40.42.
Corey Johnson (Jr., Muskegon, Mich./Muskegon Reeths-Puffer) placed fifth in the pole vault clearing 16’5-1/2?. Dickson placed third in the 400 with his fastest time of the season, 47.18.
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).
Based on marks earned during the regular season, the Buckeyes headed into the championships holding the Top 5 positions in 21 events in comparison to the other Big Ten schools. Ohio State scored the bulk of its points today. At the end of day two, after eight scored events, the women were tied for sixth-place (19 points) . After seven scored events, the men were tied for seventh-place (12 points).
The Buckeyes who qualified for the NCAA Championships will be traveling to Durham, N.C., May 30-June 3.
Complete championship results can be found by logging onto www.bigtenchampionships.com.
2000 Big Ten Outdoor Championships5/19/00 – 5/21/00 Women’s Team Scores 1. Indiana 135 2. Minnesota 118 3. Ohio State 105 3. Wisconsin 105 5. Purdue 96 6. Michigan 94-1/2 7. Penn State 62 8. Illinois 57-1/2 9. Iowa 25 10. Michigan State 20
Men’s Team Scores 1. Wisconsin 155 2. Minnesota 105-1/2 3. Ohio State 103 4. Purdue 88-1/2 5. Illinois 84 6. Iowa 76 7. Penn State 71-1/2 8. Michigan 65 9. Indiana 48-1/2 10. Michigan State 21
