Track & Field Heads to Big Ten Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/22/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Feb. 22, 2002
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%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio-The Ohio State track and field teams return to action Saturday and Sunday at the 2002 Big Ten Indoor Championships. The men’s team will travel to Minnesota, while the women will compete at Penn State.%^$
%^$Looking to Repeat
%^$Three Buckeyes will look to defend their 2001 Indoor Big Ten titles. For the men, Rob Myers will defend his title in the 1-mile run. He won last season with a time of 4:08.78. On the women’s side, Tami Smith and Katy Craig will defend their titles in the high jump and weight throw, respectively. Smith won last year with a jump of 5-10, while Craig threw for a distance of 63-11.5.%^$
%^$No One Can Beat Smith
%^$Defending Big Ten high jump champion Tami Smith has continued to dominate the competition. She has placed first in all six high jump events this season, including a season-best 1.83 meters at the New York Invitational. That mark automatically qualifies her for the NCAA high jump championship as well as sets a meet record and OSU record.%^$
%^$Craig Breaks Her Own Record
%^$Co-captain Katy Craig set Ohio State indoor and French Field House records in the weight throw at the OSU Invitational Feb. 2. She threw for a distance of 68-06. This distance was good enough for third on the NCAA list and a Big Ten best this season. Her previous best was 68-03.75, set earlier this season at the OSU Collegiate Duals (Jan. 12).%^$
%^$Taylor Tops Big Ten in Shot Put
%^$Dan Taylor guided the men’s team with a first-place finish in the shot put at the OSU Invitational with a distance of 65-07 3/4. This distance ranks fourth on the NCAA list and is the best in the Big Ten this season.%^$
%^$Owens Leads All-Century Team
%^$Track legend Jesse Owens was named the Ohio State male athlete of the century by the Columbus Touchdown Club. Owens’ legend at Ohio State blossomed, thanks to such feats as setting three world records – in the long jump, 220-yard dash and 220-yard hurdles – within a 70-minute span at the 1935 Big Ten track championships. He became a household name at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, where he won four gold medals. Stephanie Hightower was named women’s track and field athlete of the century. She was a three-time (1978-80) All-American in the hurdles.%^$
%^$Last Week-Scarlet & Gray Invitational
%^$The Ohio State men’s and women’s track and field teams fared well at the Scarlet and Gray Invitational, with the women’s team capturing first place in eight events while the men’s squad won 10.%^$
%^$Tami Smith continued her domination in the high jump by remaining undefeated on the season with a jump of 1.78 meters. The Buckeye women swept the top three places in the 600-meter run and 60-meter hurdles. Tina Johnson won the 600-meter run with a time of 1:37.78. Stephanie Ray and Rhondalynn Crawford finished second and third, respectively. Dalanda Jackson won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.27 while teammates Molly Logan and Brandi Hogan finished second and third with times of 8.64 and 8.79 seconds, respectively. Onica Fraser finished first in the 200-meter dash with a time of 25.33 seconds. Mandy Osmond won the 800-meter run in 2:17.76. Kati Stevens garnered first place in the 1-mile run (5:10.06). Rosalind Goodwin won first place in the triple jump with a distance of 12.12 meters. The 4×400 relay team also placed first with a time of 3:52.26.%^$
%^$Dan Taylor guided the men’s team with a first-place finish in the shot put (18.49m) while Rob Myers added a first-place finish in the 800-meter run (1:53.43). Joel Brown topped the field in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.95 seconds. John Morris also was first in the 400-meter dash for the Buckeyes with a time of 49.20. Greg Norman won first place in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.92 seconds. Todd Helber placed first in the 600-meter run with a time of 1:21.04, while teammate Jeff Cerveny garnered first in the high jump (2.11m). Casey Naumoff and Nosa Ehimwenman helped the Buckeyes by capturing first place in the pole vault (4.45m) and triple jump (15.60m), respectively. The men’s team, like the women, won the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:17.84%^$
%^$Meet Coach Rogers
%^$In his 14 years at Ohio State, Russ Rogers has produced more than 100 Big Ten indoor and outdoor track and field champions, 10 NCAA indoor and outdoor champions and 69 All-Americans. Rogers has more than 30 years of head coaching experience in national and international track and field. Rogers came to Ohio State from Fairleigh Dickinson University where he served as the head coach for men’s and women’s track and field as well as the cross country teams for 10 years.%^$
%^$Up Next
%^$The Buckeyes will compete at the USATF Indoor Championships March 1 and 2 in Atlanta.%^$
