Track and Field Poised for Second Tilt in Tempe – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/26/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 26, 2003
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Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State track and field squad competed in the first of two events held at Arizona State’s Sun Angel Stadium last week as OSU qualified nine athletes for regional competition in the Baldy Castillo Invitational. The Buckeyes will look to build on their initial outing of the 2003 outdoor campaign in the Arizona State Invitational Saturday, March 29.
The Arizona State Invitational
Where: Sun Angel Stadium
When: Saturday, March 29
Field event start: 9:30 a.m.
Track event start 3:30 p.m.
The Field: Ohio State, Arizona State, Kansas State, N. Arizona, Oregon
Last Week: The Baldy Castillo
Eight separate Ohio State athletes posted regional qualifying scores at the 2003 Baldy Castillo Classic. Freshman thrower Amarachi Ukabam tallied bids in both the discus (169-7) and the shot put (45-7.25), while senior Krista Keir shattered the Ohio State program mark in the discus with a 186-1 qualifying first place mark.
Two returning All-Americans made their 2003 debuts at the Baldy Castillo in seniors George Hoover – javelin- and Dalanda Jackson – hurdles. Jackson topped the field with a 14.27 in the 100-meter hurdles, while Hoover, the 2000 and 2001 Big Ten champion, posted a 209-4 in his first event in two years since sitting out 2002 with an elbow injury.
Five other Buckeyes posted qualifying marks as seniors John Norman – 55.17 in the hammer throw – and Jeff Cerveny – 6-9.75 in the high jump – led the men’s side, while Erin Carter (shot put), Shelaine Larson (Hammer) and Alexis McCall – 48-1.75 in the shot put – earned regional bids as well.
Happy Returns
The Baldy Castillo Invitational marked the returns of a pair of Ohio State All-American performers in seniors George Hoover and Dalanda Jackson.
Hoover, the 2000 and 2001 conference champion in the javelin, posted a 209-4 in his first collegiate event since the 2001 NCAA championships, while Jackson, an All-American in 2002, captured first place in the 100-meter hurdles with a 14.27 figure.
Keir Snatches Record From McCall
Senior thrower Krista Keir claimed the Ohio State program record from current teammate Alexis McCall in Saturday’s discus competition at the Baldy Castillo Invitational as she posted a 186-1 to place first in the event. Keir’s mark bests the record set by McCall at 182-4 April 13 of last season.
Ohio State at 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships
Junior All-American thrower Dan Taylor captured a second place finish in the men’s shot put with a personal best 21.33-meter effort to help lead the Buckeyes to a tie for 14th place in the men’s competition.
Taylor coupled his runner-up standing in the shot put with a third place 21.00m effort in the weight throw Friday.
Also competing in the throw events was sophomore Keturah Lofton, who recorded a 19.01m mark to earn an 11th place finish. Lofton joined fellow female thrower Krista Keir as an NCAA qualifier. Keir placed 17th in Friday’s shot put event (15.20m).
Distance runner Rob Myers advanced to Saturday’s finals with a qualifying mark in Friday’s preliminary rounds. Myers scored a Top 10 finish as he posted a 4:07.36 to earn eighth in the finals.
Hurdler Molly Logan competed Friday in the 60-meter hurdles but failed to earn a berth in the finals, as did senior hurdler Joel Brown, who missed earning a bid in Saturday’s final by .01 with a mark of 7.78 in the men’s 60-meter hurdles.
A Glance at The Outdoor Season The beginning of the 2003 outdoor campaign welcomes the return of 2000 and 2001 Big Ten javelin champion George Hoover, who has recovered from an elbow injury that befell him in the 2002 season. Hoover is the Ohio State record holder in the event at 230-9.
Indoor All-American thrower Dan Taylor will look to carry his record-breaking success to the outdoor field as he looks to build upon his school record in the discus (182-0) set in 2002.
Tami Smith will attempt to defend her conference title in the women’s high jump, while two throwers, Alexis McCall and Krista Keir will look for repeat performances in their respective outdoor events.
Joel Brown will lead the sprint squad, while Rob Myers will head the OSU distance team. Senior Dalanda Jackson returns to captain the women’s hurdles team.
11 Buckeyes Earn All-Big Ten
11 Buckeyes were recognized as first and second team All-Big Ten performers after placing either first or second in their respective events at the 2003 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Leading the Ohio State honorees was thrower Taylor, who topped his own OSU and Big Ten record mark en route to claiming the weight throw crown as he posted a sweep of the weekend’s throw events. His mark of 22.35m (73-4) bested his Ohio State and conference record-setting mark of 22.03m set earlier this season and outperformed teammate Rusty Azbell – 19.74m (64-9.25) – as Taylor tallied his third career Big Ten throwing title. The honor is Azbell’s first of his career.
Brown claimed first team all-conference as he posted a 7.80 in the finals of the 60-meter hurdles, while fellow senior high jumper Tami Smith captured her third-consecutive indoor conference title with a leap of 5-9.75.
Earning his second career All-Big Ten honor was junior Drew Carter as he placed second in the long jump.
Also earning recognition on the women’s side was Nicholette Chambers, who turned in an Ohio State record-setting performance scoring 3,793 points to capture the conference title in the pentathlon. Pannsy Henry, Molly Logan and Brandi Hogan joined Chambers to claim second place in the women’s 4×400-meter relay en route to earning second team all-conference honors.
Ohio State continued their strong performances in the field events as Lofton led the way placing second in the weight throw with a mark of 62-1.75, while Keir rounded-out the Ohio State all-conference effort with a second place throw of 16.26m (53-4.25).
Recapping The 2003 Big Ten Indoor Championships
The Men: The men’s squad found itself in first place after day one action as Taylor scored a title-winning performance in the shot put, while Drew Carter earned eight team points with a second place standing in the long jump.
Day two saw the Buckeyes claim a fourth place team finish as Taylor contributed another 10 points with a sweep of the throw events, while Joel Brown also netted 10 points for the Ohio State cause as he claimed the 60-meter hurdles championship with a provisional qualifying mark of 7.80.
In the one-mile run , Rob Myers captured third finishing in a time of 4:07.43, while pole vaulter Seth MacCarter also posted a third place finish with a 16-0.75 figure.
The Women: The Buckeyes finished the event with 69.0 points to edge Wisconsin for fourth place.
Tami Smith captured her third-consecutive conference title in the high jump. Smith defended her title in a jump-off with a leap of 5-9.75.
Ohio State continued their strong performances in the field events, placing four individuals in the Top 8 in the weight throw. Lofton led the way placing second with a throw of 62-1.75. In her first appearance at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, Amarachi Ukabam turned in a strong performance with a throw of 59-2 to place fourth.
In the shot put, Keir placed second with a throw of 16.26m (53-4.25). Erin Carter also scored points for the Buckeyes with an eighth place finish throwing a distance of 48-9.50.
Taylor Earns USTA Weekly Award
Dan Taylor was named Friday as the United States Track and Field Coaches Association Athlete of the Week for March 6. Taylor earned the honor with a Big Ten record-setting performance to win the conference weight throw title, which he combined with a first place finish in the shot put.
The Middlefield, Ohio native placed first in 12 of 14 throw events during the 2003 indoor season and has automatically qualified in both the weight throw and the shot put for the NCAA Championships set for March 14 and 15.
OSU Sweeps Big Ten Athlete of the Week Honors
Ohio State sprinter/hurdlers Joel Brown and Molly Logan set new Ohio State program records with a sweep of the hurdles events Saturday at the Scarlet and Gray Invitational en route to claiming Big Ten Track and Field Athlete of the Week awards for Feb. 25.
Brown, who established a new Ohio State all-time mark in the 60m hurdles with a 7.77 on Feb. 8, 2003, set a new Ohio State indoor record with a 7.18 mark in the 55m hurdles Saturday during the Scarlet and Gray Invitational. Brown’s mark serves as an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships. Brown also scored a first place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 21.78.
Logan, who has captured first place four consecutive weeks in the hurdles events, provisionally qualified for national competition with a new French Field House record 7.68 mark in the 55m hurdles.
Brown and Logan also have provisionally qualified in the 60m hurdles in 2003. Brown twice with a 7.77 at the Rod McCravy Invitational and the Sykes/Sabock Challenge Cup and Logan with an 8.26 performance at the Sykes/ Sabock.
With the weekly award, Brown and Logan join Ohio State thrower and three-time conference honoree Dan Taylor for a total of five Big Ten Track and Field Athlete of the Week merits during the 2003 indoor season.
Up Next
The Ohio State squad returns to Columbus and Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium to kick off the 2003 outdoor season as the Buckeyes play host to the Ohio State Relays.
