No. 12 Men’s Track and Field on Top Following First Day of Big Ten Competition – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 1, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State men’s track and field team, ranked No. 12 in the latest Trackwire.com poll, stands atop the team standings after the first day of the Big Ten Championships at the University of Illinois’ Armory Indoor Track Facility. The Buckeyes’ strong performance was led by thrower Dan Taylor (Jr., Middlefield, Ohio), the reigning Big Ten champion in the outdoor shot put, added an indoor title to his resume, while junior jumper Drew Carter (Jr., Solon, Ohio) scored a second place finish in the men’s long jump.
Ohio State has collected 36 points after five events and holds a 6-point advantage over Wisconsin and an 8-point lead over Minnesota.
Taylor posted a 20.00m (65-7.50) mark to best the Big Ten field and once again automatically qualify for the NCAA Championships. Taylor will look for a sweep of the throw events when he takes to the circle for the weight throw competition Sunday. Taylor holds the top mark in the Big Ten in each event this season. Freshman thrower Mike D’Andrea (Avon Lake, Ohio) placed eighth in the shot put with a 17.38m (57-00.75) performance.
Carter fell just shy of the 25-00.00 mark scored by Indiana’s Aarik Wilson to capture his second Big Ten runner-up standing in the long jump. Carter took second at the outdoor championships in 2002.
Buckeye hurdler Joel Brown (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) posted a 7.81 in the 60-meter hurdles to earn the top mark in the preliminary rounds to advance to the finals. Fellow OSU hurdler Jason Hodges (Fr., Huber Heights, Ohio) will join Brown in Sunday’s final as he scored a qualifying mark of 8.06. Brown’s time serves as a provisional qualifier for NCAA competition.
Distance runner Rob Myers (Sr., Rushville, Ohio) also advanced to the finals of the one-mile run with a sub-4:00 performance (3:59.44), which serves as an automatic qualifier. Also qualifying provisionally was sophomore Aaron Fisher (So., Indianapolis, Ind.) with an 8:08.02 third place performance in the 3,000-meter run finals. Senior Derek Butler (Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio) placed just behind Fisher with an 8:15.82 to take fifth. Other Buckeyes who performed well on the men’s side were pole vaulter Seth MacCarther (So., Chillicothe, Ohio), who claimed a third place standing with a 16-0.75 mark, while sprinter Greg Norman (So., Amherst, Ohio) – 60-meter dash – and John Morris (So., Camden, N.J.) – 400-meter dash – advanced to Sunday’s finals with qualifying marks in their respective events.
Competition resumes Sunday at 9 a.m. with the weight throw event as Taylor seeks the sweep.
For complete event results please visit http://www.bigten.org/PressReleases/20030224/itrk-030301-mtrackindex.cfm
