Five Buckeyes Head To NCAA Championships – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/30/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 30, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Five members of the Ohio State track and field teams will travel to Baton Rouge, La., to compete in the 2002 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The event takes place Wednesday through Saturday on the LSU campus. Representing the women’s squad is the throwing trio of Katy Craig (hammer throw), Alexis McCall (shot put) and Krista Keir (discus), as well as Tami Smith (high jump). Dan Taylor (shot put) is the lone participant for the men’s team.
A LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
The 2002 NCAA Track and Field Championships will feature some of the nations best talent. In women’s discus, Michigan sophomore Melissa Bickett recorded the best throw in the nation, with a distance of 56.83 meters April 26. In women’s shot put, North Carolina freshman Laura Gerraughty holds the longest distance in the country with a throw of 17.50 meters. Not far behind is Kansas State senior Austra Skujyte, who holds a mark of 17.03 meters. Nebraska Senior Melissa Price holds the top mark in the hammer throw, reaching a distance of 66.81 meters. Iowa State senior Gina Curtis reached a height of 1.86 meters in the high jump. Missouri junior Christian Cantwell established a throw of 21.45 meters in the men’s shot put.
KATY CRAIG
Katy Craig had yet another successful season with the Buckeyes, qualifying for her second consecutive NCAA championship. Craig qualified for the event at the Len Paddock Invitational, throwing a distance of 58.77m in the hammer throw. With the NCAA up next, Craig shattered her previous record at the Big Ten championships throwing a distance of 59.90m and setting a Big Ten meet record en route to winning her second consecutive Big Ten title.
ALEXIS MCCALL
Alexis McCall qualified for her first NCAA track and field championship in the shot put. Her best throw came at the 2002 Jesse Owens Track Classic where she qualified for the national meet with a toss of 16.12m. At the conference championships McCall finished second with a throw of 15.88m. McCall holds the Ohio State outdoor record in the shot put.
KRISTA KEIR
Krista Keir qualified for the NCAA track and field championships in the discus for the first time this season. Keir also won the Big Ten title in the discus by throwing a season’s best 54.54m.
TAMI SMITH
Tami Smith has made her 2002 season one to remember by qualifying for the 2002 NCAA Track and Field Championships. Smith won every meet she competed in this season except the 2002 Penn Relays where she placed second. Smith qualified for the 2002 NCAA track and field championships at the TCU Invitational with a season’s best leap of 6-0. Smith finished the Big Ten season strong by winning the high jump.
DAN TAYLOR
Dan Taylor qualified for the 2002 NCAA track and field championships in the very first meet of the season at the Wheeling Jesuit Invitational with a distance of 18.62m in the shot put. Following the Wheeling Jesuit Invitational Taylor earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week honores. By the end of the season at the Big Ten championships Taylor improved his distance to 19.15m, good enough for a first-place finish in the Big Ten.
LAST TIME OUT
On May 17-19 the Ohio State men’s and women’s track teams competed in the 2002 Big Ten Track and Field Championships in Madison, Wis.
The men received an outstanding performance from sophomore Dan Taylor (So., Middlefield, Ohio/Bershire), Taylor, who earlier this season qualified for the NCAA Championships, threw a distance of 19.15m good enough for a first place finish. Ohio State also received another strong outing from fellow thrower Andrew Saurer (Sr., Smithville, Ohio/Smithville). Saurer finished third in the hammer throw with a toss of 60.78m.
The women also received strong performances in the throwing events from Krista Keir (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville), Alexis McCall (So., Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and Katy Craig. Keir placed first in the discus with a throw of 54.54m while Craig continued her dominance in the Big Ten by winning the hammer throw, setting a Big Ten meet record of 59.90m. Alexis McCall also had a strong showing at the Big Ten championships this year by finishing second in the shot put with a throw of 15.88m. The Ohio State woman’s track and field team also received another strong performance from Tami Smith (Jr., Galloway, Ohio/Galloway) who won the high jump with her effort of 5’11.
