Track and Field Prepares for Penn State Invitaional – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Feb. 7, 2001
This Week
The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field squads will compete at the Penn State Invitational in State College, Pa. Feb 9-10. Penn State will play host to 14 schools, including Air Force Academy, Buffalo,Georgetown,Indiana, Manhattan,Michigan,Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh,Toronto,West Virginia and Wisconsin. The meet will begin Friday at 5:00 p.m and continue the following day at 11:00 a.m.
Millrose Games Recap
Ohio State track and field was well represented at the Millrose Games Friday, held at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y.
The Buckeyes’ 4×400-meter relay team placed first for the second-consecutive year at the 94th annual Millrose Games.
The squad, composed of Joel Brown (So., Baltimore, Ma./Woodlawn), Courtney Cornwall (Sr., Inwood , N.Y./ Lawrence) ,Thomas Dickson (Sr., St Vincent Wis.) and anchor Andrew Pierce ( Sr., Yellow Springs, Ohio/ Yellow Springs), posted an overall fastest time of 3:16.53. Essex County College and Seton Hall rounded out the Top 3.
Katy Craig (Hilliard, Ohio/ Hilliard Davidson) had a strong showing in her first invite to the Millrose Games, placing third with a mark of 63'-06. 00
Members of the team who did not compete this weekend remained in Columbus to train.
Meet the Coach
In his 13 years at Ohio State, Russ Rogers has produced 100 Big Ten indoor and outdoor track and field champions, 10 NCAA indoor and outdoor champions and 65 All-Americans. His 1993 teams alone produced 16 All-Americans and 12 Big Ten champions in both indoor and outdoor events.
Rogers was recently chosen as the head coach of the national team that participated in the 1999 World Indoor Championships in Macbashi, Japan.
Rogers has more than 30 years of head coaching experience in national and international track and field.
Rogers also coached with the U.S. team at the 1994 Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was the 1988 sprint coach for the U.S. Olympic Team which competed in Seoul, Korea, the 1987 coach of the World University Games team, the 1985-86 head coach of the U.S. track team Rogers came to Ohio State from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where he was the head coach for both the men’s and women’s track and field and cross country teams for 10 years.
Returning All-American
Last season, All-Big Ten and All-American performers were produced in both the men’s and women’s camps.
Andrew Pierce (Sr., Yellow Springs,Ohio/Yellow Springs) claimed his second consecutive indoor medal in the 400-meter dash (46.46). Pierce represented the Buckeyes at the 2000 NCAA Championships posting a second-place All-American finish in the 400.
Donica Merriman (Sr.,Trotwood,Ohio Trotwood-Madison)guided the women’s team to a sixth-place finish in the 2000 Big Ten Championships, just two points shy of a fourth- place finish. Merriman claimed the 60-meter hurdles (8.19) for the second consecutive year and won the 200-meter dash to earn 2000 Big Ten and Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year.
Looking Ahead
Next week the Buckeyes will play host to the Scarlet and Gray Invitational Saturday Feb. 17 in the French Field House.
