OSU Welcomes Field to 18th Annual Jesse Owens Track Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
April 30, 2003
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Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State track and field teams return to Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium to serve as the host school for the 18th running of the Jesse Owens Track Classic. The field of participating programs reaches as far West as Wyoming to as far East as Delaware State and to the South with Georgia State and Alabama and across the northern United States border to Toronto. This year’s field, which also includes such teams as Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Michigan is the largest in the near two-decade running of the annual event as the number of participants will exceed 1,000.
Club teams will also be among the competitors in the meet this year as Team USA, Adidas, Nike, and Reebok, among others, will run against collegiate competitors.
“This year’s event is very special, especially with teams competing that will be in Columbus for the NCAA Regionals.” Ohio State track and field head coach Russ Rogers said. “With Team USA in the field, we will have 10 men and 10 women that have been to the Olympics or won a NCAA Championship. This should be the biggest event we have seen yet.”
The Jesse Owens Track Classic
Main Information: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Where: Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
When: 4 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m., Saturday (high school events), 4 p.m. (collegiate events)
The 2003 Jesse Owens Classic Collegiate Field
Akron, Alabama, Ashland, Central Michigan , Central State, Charleston (W.Va), Defiance Delaware State, Edinboro, George Mason, Georgia State, Kent State, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami (Ohio), Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Ohio, Otterbein, Penn State, Siena Heights, South Alabama, South Dakota, Southern Illinois, Tennessee, Tiffin, Toledo, Toronto, Vanderbilt, Wheeling Jesuit, Wyoming, Youngstown St. The field also includes unattached participants and club teams. Taylor Scores Outstanding Male Athlete of the Penn Relays
Junior Dan Taylor continued one of the most impressive seasons in OSU track and field program history with a pair of Penn Relay Championship of America titles in the hammer and the shot put.
Taylor, who eclipsed his own Ohio State record in the hammer by two inches with a 209-8, has placed first in nine of his last 10 throw competitions. Taylor’s first title came Friday as he posted a 65-0.50 to top the field in the Men’s Collegiate Shot Put Championship of America.
In his second event Friday, Taylor claimed a fourth place finish in the Men’s Collegiate Championship of America in the discus as he marked a 177-6.
Taylor Makes it Half a Dozen
With his pair of first place efforts at the Penn Relays, Taylor was deemed Big Ten Athlete of the Week for the sixth time this season and third this month.
A previous winner three times during the indoor campaign, Taylor matched that total in the outdoor season as he was named the April 29 honoree following yet another record-setting performance.
Taylor now has collected six Big Ten Athlete of the Week merits thus far in 2003 coming Jan. 14, Jan. 22, Feb. 11, April 1, April 15 and Tuesday’s honor.
Last Week’s Action
The Buckeyes split the squad into three sections this past week as OSU competed in the Penn Relays, the Otterbein Invite and the Baldwin Wallace Invite.
The Penn Relays
Day one High jumper Tami Smith equaled her season-best performance to place fourth in the College Women’s Championship High Jump event. Senior thrower Krista Keir also helped to lead the first day Buckeye contingent with a sixth place effort in the College Women’s Shot Put Championship of America.
Also in the throws, Erin Carter, Amarachi Ukabam and Alexis McCall placed 1-2-3 in the women’s shot put event with each scoring a season-best performance.
Day Two
Friday marked another impressive outing for the women’s throw squad as Ukabam continued a stellar first season shattering her former personal-best 170-10 to claim third in the College Women’s Discus Championships with a heave of 178-3. Keir added a second Top 10 performance with a 141-04 to earn 10th.
Sophomore Shayla Moore placed second in the women’s triple jump with a 42-1.25 leap to lead the OSU jumpers.
Day Three
Rusty Azbell also turned in a strong performance placing sixth in the college men’s hammer throw with a toss of 183-3, while John Norman placed 17th in the event with a toss of 175-2.
OSU claimed Top 8 performances in the Collegiate Championships of America in the 110-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles. Senior hurdler Joel Brown equaled his season-best with a 13.76 to take fourth in the 110-meter hurdles final, while fellow senior Molly Logan clocked a 13.99 to take eighth in the women’s 100-meter hurdles final. The OSU men’s sprint medley squad ranked 13th with a 3:25.38.
Otterbein Invitational
Lyndsi Gay placed first in the 1,500-meter event with a time of 4:45.51. The men’s distance team also faired well in the 1500-meter run placing six individuals in the Top 10. Aaron Fisher captured first place honors with a time of 3:52.53. Sophomore Jacob McCauley won the men’s 800-meter event in a time of 1:55.62.
Junior Billy Mills highlighted the day capturing first place honors in the high jump and long jump. Mills posted a leap of 6-9 in the high jump and 22-4 in the long jump.
Baldwin Wallace Invitational
The Buckeyes also sent another split squad of individuals to Baldwin Wallace College to compete in the Baldwin Wallace Invitational. Ohio State received strong performances from the men’s and women’s throw squad.
The women posted three individuals in the Top 5 in the hammer throw, as Keturah Lofton and Katy Houser led the way for Ohio State in the women’s hammer throw as they posted first and second place finishes. Lofton won the event with a toss of 184-07.
On the men’s side, Brian Duby placed first in the men’s hammer throw with a throw of 179-06.
Seven Score Season or Career Bests at Penn Relays
The Penn Relays showcased several Buckeye personal and season-best efforts. Included in the group were Tami Smith, who equaled her 2003 mark of 5-8.75 to place fourth in the high jump, while Joel Brown clocked a career-low 13.76 in both the prelims and finals of the 110-meter hurdles to take fourth overall.
Freshman Amarachi Ukabam established career-highs in both the hammer and shot put as her 178-3 in the hammer earned a third place standing in the Women’s Championship of America.
Dalanda Jackson (1:01.14 – 400m hurdles), Rusty Azbell (183-3 – hammer) and Erin Carter (50-9.50 – shot put) all set career-bests, while junior Alexis McCall heaved a season-best 50-6.25.
Another Week, Another Record Falls
An Ohio State program record has fallen in each of the six events this outdoor season as Keir kicked off 2003 with a 186-1 to best her previous OSU mark of 182-4 in the discus at the season-opening Baldy Castillo Classic.
Since Keir’s effort, Taylor has gone on a five-week tear where he has set an OSU standard in the throw events at each meet. Taylor’s first mark came at the Arizona State Invite when he scored a 204-10 to win the hammer. A week later Taylor topped his own mark in the hammer at the Ohio State Relays and coupled that performance with a record-setter in the discus as well (187-4).
Taylor most recently eclipsed his record in the hammer for a fourth time this season to win the Penn Relays Men’s Collegiate Hammer Throw Championship of America with a 209-8. Sandwiched between his OSU outdoor marks was a Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium record effort of 65-6.25 in the shot put at the All-Ohio Championships. Gary, Croghan part of impressive distance field
With the 2003 NCAA Track and Field Regional Championships set to take place May 30 and 31 at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, this year’s 18th running of the Jesse Owens Track and Field Classic (Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3) has the potential to play host to its most impressive field yet. Included in the expanded event is the addition of Friday evening’s distance carnival.
The Jesse Owens Track Classic once again serves as a homecoming for former OSU distance runner and two-time NCAA Steeplechase champion Mark Croghan (1988-1991). Croghan, a three-time Olympian, is still the owner of the 3,000-meter steeplechase record at Ohio State and will look to top his own Jesse Owens Track Classic all-time mark of 8:19.86 set in 1998. Croghan recently competed with current training partner and OSU cross country head coach Robert Gary (1992-1995) in the 2003 United States 8K Championships this month in New York City’s Central Park.
Gary, a 1996 Olympian and more recently the winner of the 2002 United States 4-Kilometer Championships in Houston, Texas, will be one of the feature runners in the 5,000-meter run.
Taylor Sinks Teeth into Trackshark.com Weekly Award
Dan Taylor, who was named both Male Track Athlete of the Penn Relays and Big Ten Athlete of the Week was named Athlete of the Week by trackshark.com for his performance at the Penn Relays.
In all, Taylor has reaped six Big Ten weekly awards, one USTA honor and two Male Athlete of the Tournament honors.
Taylor Second Place? Not Likely
Taylor has claimed first place in eight of his last nine throw events. In all, Taylor posted first place in 12 of 14 indoor events and has topped the field in 10 of 13 throws this season.
28 Buckeyes Earn Bids to 2003 NCAA Regional championships
Through five events of the 2003 outdoor season, 28 Ohio State student-athletes have posted NCAA regional qualifying marks.
Included in that list are 2002 Indoor All-Americans Dalanda Jackson (400-meter hurdles and 100-meter hurdles), Tami Smith (high jump) and three-time qualifier George Hoover (javelin).
Six Buckeyes have qualified in multiple events as Dan Taylor and Amarachi Ukabam have posted qualifiers in the shot put, discus and hammer throw, respectively.
In all, the throwers lead the way with an impressive 14 qualifying scores, while the jumpers have added seven of their own.
The most recent Buckeyes to join the list are throwers Bryan Duby and Rusty Azbel, both in the hammer, and hurdler Molly Logan, who has now qualified in two events with her 1:01.36 in the 400-meter hurdles, which joins her 100-meter hurdle time of 13.39 as a regional qualifier.
Happy Returns
The Baldy Castillo Invitational March 21 and 22 marked the returns of a pair of Ohio State All-American performers in senior Dalanda Jackson and junior George Hoover.
Hoover, the 2000 and 2001 conference champion in the javelin, posted a 209-4 in his first collegiate event since the 2001 NCAA championships at the Baldy Castillo and topped that effort with a 211-11 to lead the field at the Arizona State Invitational.
Jackson, an All-American in 2002, captured first place in either the 100-meter hurdles or the 400m hurdles in each of the first three weeks of competition. Her 101:38 effort in the 400-meter hurdles at the ASU Invite serves as a regional qualifier, as did her 13.76 in the 100-meter hurdles prelims at the Pacesetter Invite.
Ukabam Honored by Big Ten
Ohio State freshman thrower Amarachi Ukabam was deemed Big Ten Athlete of the Week April 8 after claiming first place in both the women’s shot put and the hammer throw Saturday at the 2003 Ohio State Relays.
Ukabam scored a career-best 49-7 to win the women’s shot put adding her second regional qualifying mark in the event this season, while also claiming first in the women’s discus with another regional mark of 159-6.
Ukabam, who posted a team and personal-best 169-7 in the hammer at the Arizona State Invitational, joins fellow thrower Dan Taylor and hurdlers Joel Brown and Molly Logan as Big Ten honorees for the 2003 indoor and outdoor seasons.
Assistant coach Robert Gary places at U.S. 8k
Ohio State cross country head coach Robert Gary (Ohio State, 1996) finished 11th at the 2003 United States 8K Championships Saturday in New York City’s Central Park.
Running against one of the strongest and deepest fields put together for a USA national championship, Gray clocked 23:09 in wet conditions over the rolling 4.97-mile course. Olympian and pre race favorite Meb Keflezighi missed the course record by two seconds to win in 22:28.
Former Ohio State distance great and Olympian Mark Croghan, Gary’s training partner, finished 17th posting a mark of 23:16.
Triple Play: Taylor, Ukabam Qualify for Three NCAA Events
Following the All-Ohio Championships both junior Dan Taylor and freshman Amarachi Ukabam have regionally qualified in three throw events. Each has earned bids to compete in the NCAA regional meet held at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium May 30 and 31.
Joining Taylor and Ukabam as multiple-event qualifiers are seniors Joel Brown, Dalanda Jackson and Krista Keir, Molly Logan and junior Alexis McCall. Both Keir and McCall have qualified in the shot put and discus events, while Brown and Jackson have earned bids in the 110 and 100-meter hurdles, respectively. Jackson adds a second hurdles event in the 400m. Brown earned a bid in the 200-meter dash with a 21.20 at the All-Ohio Championships and followed that with a 21.07 at the Pacesetter.
Taylor Earns USTA Weekly Award
Dan Taylor was named 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.
Former Standout Hightower Named to U.S. Olympic Team Staff
Former Olympian Stephanie Hightower of Columbus, Ohio, has been named to Team USA women’s staff for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Hightower, who ran at Ohio State from 1977-1980 will serve as the squad’s head manager, working with women’s head coach Sue Humphrey.
Hightower currently serves with Women’s USA Track and Field and previously worked as an assistant manager for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and head manager for the 1999 World Championship Team in Seville, Spain.
Next Up
Ohio State heads to the campus of Indiana University for the Billy Hayes Invitational Saturday, May 10 in Bloomington, Ind.
