Five Track and Field Buckeyes Crowned Big Ten Champs in Final Day of Conference Meet – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
May 18, 2003
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio State concluded an outstanding showing in day three of the 2003 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships Sunday at Bierman Stadium at the University of Minnesota. The Ohio State men used conference championship efforts by senior sprinter Joel Brown (Woodlawn, Md.) and juniors, thrower Dan Taylor (Middlefield, Ohio), and distance runner Aaron Fisher (Indianapolis, Ind.), to score 111.5 team points and place fourth behind Indiana (113.0), Purdue (148.0) and host Minnesota (168.5), while the women also tallied a fourth place standing fueled by title-winning performances from senior Tami Smith (Galloway, Ohio) and freshman thrower Amarachi Ukabam (Amah-rah-CHEE YOU-kah-Bomb – Creve Couer, Mo.) en route to an event total of 83.0 team points. Michigan defended its 2002 women’s crown with 137.0 team points.
Defending individual titles for the Buckeyes were Smith, who scored a season-best 5-11.25 to claim her second-consecutive Big Ten championship in the high jump, and Taylor, who took first in the shot put for the second year in a row with a 64-8 effort. Taylor’s first place standing in the shot put marked his third Top 2 finish in the throw events as he placed second in both the hammer and discus earlier in the meet to earn All-Big Ten honors in each event.
Also scoring a second All-Big Ten honor was Fisher, who topped the field in the men’s 5,000-meter run with a season-best and NCAA regional qualifying 14:19.41. Fisher earned a second place spot in Saturday night’s 3,000-meter steeplechase. Fellow Big Ten champ, Derek Butler, the winner of Friday evening’s 10,000-meter event, posted a 14:25.33 to place fourth behind Fisher in the 5,000m.
Brown, the 2003 indoor conference champ in the 60-meter hurdles, equaled his career-best mark of 13.76 to best the field in the men’s 100-meter hurdles. Brown, who has posted the regional qualifying 13.76 on three separate occasions this season, earned a second All-Big Ten honor by anchoring the men’s 4×100-meter relay squad to a second place finish behind Purdue. Brown was joined by sophomore Greg Norman (Amherst, Ohio), who ran the lead leg, and juniors Drew Carter (Solon, Ohio) and Michael Jenkins (Tampa, Fla.), also wide receivers on the OSU football squad, as the group clocked a season-best 40.46 to earn a qualifying bid the 2003 NCAA Regional Championships held May 30 and 31 at Ohio State’s Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
Joining Smith in the women’s winner’s circle was freshman Ukabam as she heaved a 170-11 to earn first in the discus championship. Ukabam outscored teammates Krista Keir (Sr., Westerville, Ohio) and Shelaine Larson (Jr., Ventura, Calif.) who took third and fifth, respectively.
Two other Buckeyes scored season-best in Sunday’s competition as junior Nosa Ehimwenman (AY-HIM-wen-man – Homewood, Ill.) earned fourth place in the men’s triple jump with a 51-3.75, while hurdler Molly Logan (Sr., Philadelphia, Pa.) scored a wind-aided season mark of 13.34 to record third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles. Jumper Shayla Moore (Jessup, Md.) contributed additional team points with a 42-2 fifth place performance in the women’s triple jump.
The men’s fourth place overall finish is its third Top 4 placing in the last four seasons, while the women’s fourth place standing is its highest since scoring third in 2000.
Ohio State is off this week in preparation to play host of the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Regional Championships May 30 and 31 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
For complete results please visit www.bigten.org
