Eight Members of the Ohio State Track and Field Squad Earn All-Big Ten Honors for 2003 Indoor Campaign – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
March 3, 2003
Columbus, Ohio – Eight 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 this weekend as the men competed at the University of Illinois, while the women participated at Indiana.
Leading the Ohio State honorees was junior thrower Dan Taylor (Middlefield, Ohio) 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. Taylor topped the field in the shot put Saturday with a 20.00m (65-7.50) effort. His mark of 22.35m (73-4.00), which bested his Ohio State and conference record-setting mark of 22.03m set earlier this season, out-performed teammate Rusty Azbell (Lancaster, Ohio) – 19.74m (64-9.25) – as Taylor tallied his third career Big Ten throwing title. The Middlefield, Ohio native also claimed the outdoor shot put championship in 2002. The honor is Azbell’s first of his career.
Senior Joel Brown (Baltimore, Md.) 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 (Galloway, Ohio) captured her third-consecutive indoor conference title with a leap of 5-9.75.
Also earning recognition of the women’s side was Nicholette Chambers (Jr., New Haven, Conn.), who turned in an Ohio State record-setting performance scoring 3,793 points to capture the conference title in the pentathlon. Chambers combined a first place finish in the 800-meter run (2:28.66) of the event with second place performances in the 60-meter hurdles (8.49) and the long jump (5.48m/ 18-0.25) to capture the title.
Ohio State continued their strong performances in the field events as Keturah Lofton (So., Zanesville, Ohio/Zanesville), who possessed the top mark in the conference during the regular season, led the way placing second in the weight throw with a mark of 62-01.75, while senior Krista Keir (Westerville, Ohio) rounded-out the Ohio State all-conference effort with a second place throw of 16.26m (53-04.25).
